Htbrarg 


WE1K  LUNGS, 


DISEASES  OF  THE  ORGANS  OF  THE  CHEST,  WITH  THEIB 
HOME  TREATMENT  BY  THE  MOVEMENT  CUBE. 


BY  DIG  LEWIS,  M.  D., 

Proprietor  of  the  Essex  Street  Gymnasium,  Boston;   Professor  of  Physical 
Culture  in  the  Boston  Normal  Institute  ;  Author  of  the  "  New  Gym- 
nastics for  Men,  Women  and  Children  " ;  and  Physician-in-Chief 
of  the  "  Boston  Movement  Cure  for  Consumptive  Invalids." 


PROFUSELY  ILLUSTRATED. 


BOSTON: 
JAMES   R.   OSGOOD  AND   COMPANY, 

LATE  TICKNOR  &  FIELDS,  AND  FIELDS,  OSGOOD,  &  Co. 
1871. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1863,  by 

DIG    LKWIS, 
It  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


TENTH   IDITIOW. 


MY   WIFE, 

WHOSE    COMPLETE    DEVOTION    TO    MYSELF    AND    TO    OUR     MISSIOH, 
HAS    EVER    BEEN    THE    MAIN    SPRING    OF    MY 

PROFESSIONAL    LABORS, 
ASD  WHOSE  HEALTH  HAS   BEEN   RESTORED  BY  THE  RULES   HEKE  GIVEW, 

I  DEDICATE  THIS  WORK. 


2052806 


PREFACE. 

Nearly  twenty  years  ago  there  came  under  my 
professional  care  a  consumptive,  for  whose  re- 
covery I  felt  the  deepest  solicitude.  Since  then 
I  have  treated  many  invalids,  of  the  same  class, 
for  whom  my  tenderest  sympathies  have  been 
awakened.  Twelve  years  since  my  wife's  health 
failed.  Obviously,  it  was  a  case  of  consumption. 
Two  sisters  had  died  of  the  malady.  In  the 
persons  of  my  dearest  friends  I  have  felt  the 
most  intense  interest  in  pulmonary  consumption. 

For  many  years  I  employed  medicines  in  the 
treatment  of  the  malady.  During  the  last  ten 
years,  abandoning  all  drugs,  I  have  depended 
upon  the  natural  health  agents,  and  more  par- 
ticularly upon  exercise.  At  length,  I  feel  im- 
pelled to  print  the  results  of  my  observations 

and  experience.      It  would  not  be  difficult  to 
1* 


VI  PREFACE. 

make  a  large  book.  For  the  present  I  submit 
a  small  one.  It  is  for  the  people.  They  will 
find  in  it  no  theories,  no  technicalities. 

I  can  scarcely  hope  it  will  interest  my  profes- 
sional brethren ;  but  I  do  fondly  hope  that  thou- 
sands who  need  its  advice,  will  study  its  pages, 
not  only  with  interest,  but  with  substantial  profit. 

This  book  seeks  to  guide  those  with  weak 
lungs,  in  the  most  advantageous  use  of  temper 
ance,  pure  air,  sunshine,  exercise •,  and  other 
hygienic  agents.  Happily  for  my  patients  and 
myself,  there  can  be  no  controversy  over  its  sug- 
gestions. 

In  preparing  this  volume,  I  have  been  encour- 
aged by  the  consciousness  that  I  was  giving  voice 
to  a  conviction  rapidly  maturing  among  the  best 
physicians.  This  conviction  is  frankly  expressed 
by  DR.  JAMES  BLAKE,  in  the  following  words : — 

"Now  I  think  we  may  conscientiously  tell  our 
"consumptive  patients,  that  when  living  out  in 
"the  mountain  air,  they  are  doing  far  more  to 
"re-establish  their  health,  than  anything  we  can 
-'  do  for  them." 

In  fact,  this  work  is  designed  to  put  into  avail- 
able form  the  advice  which  the  wisest  of  my 


PREFACE. 


vu 


profession  constantly  give  their  consumptive  pa- 
tients. It  condemns  medicines.  But,  in  this  it 
only  echoes  the  voice  of  nearly  every  experi- 
enced physician,  whose  pocket  permits  an  un- 
biased judgment.  Every  doctor  advises  exercise. 
But  all  exercises  are  not  equally  good.  The 
book  I  offer  you,  is,  in  great  part,  filled  with 
simple  directions  for  the  practice  of  those  exer 
cises  which  possess  peculiar  value  for  consump- 
tive invalids.  The  province  of  the  "Movement 
Cure"  is,  in  brief,  the  application  of  special  ex- 
ercises to  special  needs. 

I  may  expect  too  much,  but  I  cherish  a  pro- 
found satisfaction  in  believing,  that  many,  who 
have  enlisted  in  the  army  of  consumptives,  may. 
by  reading  this  little  work,  be  induced  to  seek 
an  honorable  discharge. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  work,  especially  in 
the  description  of  phthisis,  I  am  indebted  te 
DRS.  CLARK,  THOMPSON,  MORTON,  and  other  ex 
cellent  authorities,  for  valuable  suggestions. 


CONTENTS. 

PREFACE,  5. 

GENERAL  REMARKS,  11 ;  A  vital  point,  12. 

THE  SCROFULOUS  or  tuberculous  diathesis,  17. 

SYMPTOMS  OF  CONSUMPTION,  19 ;  first  stage,  19 ;  second  stage,  20 ;  third 
stage,  21;  cough,  21;  expectoration,  22;  dyspnoea,  23;  pulse,  24; 
hemoptysis,  26 ;  emaciation,  27 ;  pain,  27 ;  fever,  28 ;  perspiration,  28 ; 
diarrhea,  28 ;  physical  signs,  29. 

CAUSES  OF  CONSUMPTION,  29 ;  impure  air  a  cause,  30 ;  dust,  30 ;  gases, 
31 ;  the  suicide,  32 ;  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta,  33 ;  Steamer  Londonder- 
ry, 40 ;  important  testimony,  42 ;  Claude  Bernard's  exDeriments,  50 ; 
foul  and  damp  cellars,  53 ;  moisture  in  the  atmosphere,  57 ;  furnaces 
and  stoves,  61 ;  open  fires  vs.  stoves  and  furnaces.  62 :  fires  in  bed- 
rooms, 63 ;  night  air,  64 ;  consumption  in  animals,  68. 

CLIMATE,  71 ;  prejudice  against  New  England  climate,  72 ;  Dr.  Forry'a 
tables,  72. 

FOOD,  74 ;  what  are  the  causes  of  indigestion  ?  75 ;  we  eat  too  much,  75 ; 
repugnance  to  the  subject,  75 ;  we  must  think  of  our  food,  76 ;  effects 
of  eating  to  much,  76  ;  interesting  historical  facts,  85  ;  .triking,  but 
common  cases,  87  ;  tlic  good  deacon,  89 ;  our  Thanksgiving  dinners, 
SO ;  the  dyspeptic  will  do  anything  but  eat  moderately,  91 ;  cases,  93 ; 
how  shall  we  determine  the  quantity  of  our  food  ?  95 ;  Prof.  Hitch- 
cock's rule,  97 ;  Dr.  Johnson's  rule,  97 ;  the  best  rule,  101 ;  testimony 
about  the  connection  between  food  and  consumption,  102 ;  waste  in 
rich  food,  113  ;  eating  when  sick,  116;  vegetarianism,  119;  diet  for 
consumptives,  121 ;  an  average  boarding-house,  126. 

COLDS,  129  ;  how  to  prevent  colds,  130 ;  how  taken,  131. 
CONDIMENTS,  131 ;  salt,  132. 

DRINKS,  134 ;  tea,  135 ;  coffee,  136 ;  alcoholic  drinks,  138. 
TOBACCO,  140;  testimony  on  effects  of  tobacco,  141 


CONTENTS. 

DRUGS,  143. 

DRESS,  144 ;  opinions  on  tight  lacing,  150 ;  bare  arms  and  legs,  153 ;  dress 
for  children,  162;  length  of  the  skirt,  166;  material  for  dress,  167; 
dress  of  males,  171. 

OUR  SHOES,  173 ;  width  of  the  sole,  174 ;  shoes  for  children,  169 ;  tempe- 
rature of  the  feet,  180. 

BATHING,  182 ;  hot  air  bath,  185 ;  the  hand  bath,  187 ;  the  warm  bath, 
191. 

OCCUPATIONS.  196 ;  those  which  tend  to  the  production  of  consumption, 
201. 

SUNSHINE,  202;  cases  treated  by  "sun-cure,  202;  shade  trees,  204. 
THE  BEST  BED,  205. 
Orn  HAIR,  207. 
POSITION,  208. 

Is  CONSUMPTION  CONTAGIOUS  ?  21 
CONSUMPTION  PREVENTED,  218. 
Is  CONSTMPTION  CURABLE  ?  221. 
RECREATIONS  FOR  CONSUMPTITES,  227. 
VEXERCISE,  232.  v 
PERCUSSION,  250. 

APPARATUS  FOR  THE  SPECIAL  EXERCISES,  257 ;  the  spirometer,  259 ;  the 
pangymnastikon,  263 ;  dumb-bells,  266 ;  clubs,  266;  the  rings,  266; 
wands,  266 ;  bean  bags,  267 ;  time  for  exercise,  267 ;  to  my  patient  or 
pupil,  270 ;  the  gymnastic  dress,  272. 

SPECIAL  EXERCISES  for  persons  with  weak  chests,  274 ;  first  week,  274 ; 
second  week,  282 ;  third  week,  288 ;  fourth  week,  296  ;  fifth  week,  306 ; 
sixth  week,  308 ;  seventh  week,  319;  eighth  week,  335 ;  ninth  week, 
351 ;  tenth  week,  351. 

To  PERSONS  with  weak  chests,  358. 

A.  NEW  SCHOOL  for  the  Physical,  Mental,  and  Moral  training  of  the  young, 
359. 

NEW  BOOKS  IK  PREPARATION.  359. 


GENERAL  REMARKS. 

The  highest  medical  authorities  of  this  century,  have 
expressed  the  opinion  that  tubercular  disease  of  the  va- 
rious tissues  is  justly  charged  with  one-third  of  the 
deaths  among  the  youth  and  adults  of  the  civilized 
peoples.  The  seat  of  this  tubercular  disease,  is,  in 
great  part,  in  the  lungs. 

Before  the  taint  is  localized,  it  is  comparatively  easy 
to  remove  it.  If  in  regard  to  most  other  maladies,  it 
may  be  said  that  ' '  an  ounce  of  prevention  is  worth  a 
pound  of  cure,"  in  reference  to  tubercular  consumption, 
it  may  be  truly  declared  that  an  ounce  of  prevention  is 
worth  tuns  of  cure. 

Had  the  talent  and  time  which  have  been  given  to 
the  treatment  of  consumption,  been  bestowed  upon 
its  causes  and  prevention,  the  per  centage  of  mortality 
from  this  dreaded  disease  would  have  been  greatly 
reduced. 

Whatever  other  merit  this  work  may  lack,  it  shall  at 
least  possess  this  one,  namely,  an  unreserved  and 
earnest  discussion  of  "the  ounce  of  prevention." 


12  A   VITAL   POINT. 

ORIGIN  OF  CONSUMPTION.  Genuine  consumption 
does  not  originate  in  a  cold,  an  inflammation,  or  a 
hemorrhage,  but  in  tubercles. 

And  these  tubercles  are  only  secondary  causes.  The 
primary  cause  is  a  certain  morbid  condition  of  the 
organism,  known  as  the  tubercular  or  scrofulous  di- 

O  ' 

athesis. 

This  morbid  condition  of  the  general  system  is  some- 
times hereditary,  but  much  more  frequently  the  result 
of  unphysiological  habits.  Those  cases  to  which  our 
own  errors  give  rise,  may  be  prevented ;  and  a  large 
proportion  of  those  who  have  inherited  consumptive 
taint,  may,  by  a  wise  hygiene,  be  saved. 


A  VITAL  POINT.  A  radical  error  underlies  nearly 
all  medical  treatment. 

A  salt  rheum  appears  on  the  hand.  An  ignorant 
doctor  says,  "It  is  a  disease  of  the  skin."  Anoint- 
ment is  applied.  The  eruption  disappears. 

An  ulcer  appears  on  the  ankle.  The  doctor  says, 
"It  is  a  disease  of  the  ankle."  He  applies  a  salve. 
Tho  sore  disappears. 

The  ear  discharges.  "The  membranes  of  the  ear 
passage  are  diseased,"  says  the  physician,  and  he  pre- 
scribes an  injection.  The  discharge  is  arrested. 

A  case  of  nasal  catarrh  is  presented.     The  medical 


A  VITAL  POINT.  13 

man  says,  "  this  nose  is  sick."  A  snuff  is  pi  escribed. 
The  discharge  ceases. 

In  each  of  these  cases  the  doctor  has  entirely  mis- 
apprehended the  seat  of  the  malady.  Of  course  his 
prescription  is  a  blunder. 

Salt  rheum  is  not  a  disease  of  the  skin.  It  is  a  dis- 
ease of  the  system,  showing  itself  in  the  skin.  The 
ulcer  is  not  a  disease  of  the  ankle.  It  is  a  disease  of 
the  system,  showing  itself  at  the  ankle. 

A  ship's  crew  is  seized  with  some  fearful  malady. 
They  hang  out  a  flag  of  distress.  Another  ship  passes 
near  the  infected  vessel.  Its  captain  discovers  the  flag 
of  distress.  A  boat's  crew  is  sent  to  cut  it  down. 
The  captain  turns  to  his  passengers  with  the  trium- 
phant exclamation,  "We  have  saved  them  !  All  signs 
of  distress  have  disappeared  !" 

A  human  body  is  diseased  in  every  part.  A  flag  of 
distress  is  hung  out  in  the  form  of  an  ulcer  at  the 
ankle.  Some  ignorant  physician  sees  it.  He  covers 
it  with  a  salve,  which  compels  it  to  close.  Then  he 
cries,  "  See,  it  is  all  gone  I" 

Another  illustration :  The  ulcer  upon  the  ankle  is 
driven  from  that  place  by  an  ointment.  Soon  it  appears 
in  the  lungs.  The  doctor  cannot  get  at  it  there,  with 
his  ointment,  and  resorts  to  inhalation.  He  is  still  de- 
termined to  apply  the  drug  to  the  local  manifestation. 

Pulmonary  consumption  is  not  a  disease  of  the  lungs. 
2 


14  A  VITAL   POINT. 

It  first  pervades  every  part  of  every  tissue  of  the  en- 
tire organism.  At  length  it  assumes  local  expression 
in  the  lungs.  How  utterly  blind  to  apply  a  drug  to 
the  ulcer,  either  when  it  is  on  the  ankle,  or  in  the  lungs  ; 
to  dry  it  up,  or  drive  it  away,  while  the  real  disease  is 
left  in  the  system.  How  infinitely  more  sensible,  with 
sunshine,  fresh  air,  bathing,  nutritious  food,  cheerful 
society,  and  wisely-directed  exercises,  to  remove  the 
systemic  morbid  conditions. 

It  may  be  said  that  when  the  disease  attacks  the 
lungs,  it  must  be  driven  from  that  vital  organ  at  any 
sacrifice.  I  reply,  if  the  drug  vapors  which  are  in- 
haled could  disperse  the  tuberculous  deposit — which  is 
impossible — the  tubercle  could  not  be  transferred  to 
any  other  internal  organ  where  it  would  do  less  harm. 
No  other  internal  organ  can  bear  tuberculous  deposit 
or  ulceration  with  less  danger  to  life.  Of  this  some- 
thing is  said  in  another  part  of  this  work. 

In  1847,  two  brothers — bank  officers — afflicted  with 
chronic  inflammation  of  the  eyes,  came  under  my  care. 
I  repeatedly  prescribed  for  them,  but  the  eyes  were  no 
better.  Indeed  they  had  little  hope,  for  during  their 
years  of  suffering,  many  physicians  had  treated  them 
without  avail.  At  length  I  told  them  there  was  no 
hope  but  in  absence  from  their  business,  and  such  rec- 
reation as  would  elevate  the  general  tone.  A  few 
months  of  hunting,  fishing,  and  great  enjoyment  in 


A   VITAL   POINT.  15 

the  country,  sufficed  to  remove  the  redness  and  weak- 
ness from  their  eyes.  As  I  have  argued,  the  disease 
was  not  one  of  the  eyes,  but  of  the  entire  system, 
which  had  assumed  a  local  expression. 

What  I  have  said  is  not  new.  This  dependence  of 
local  upon  general  disease  is  a  common  idea  with  the 
people.  A  young  man  begins  business  with  a  large 
capital.  He  falls  into  dissipation.  In  ten  years  it  ex- 
hausts his  fortune.  When  at  last  we  see  him  beg  for 
bread,  we  do  not  say  this  exhibition  of  his  poverty 
is  his  financial  disease.  His  financial  constitution  has 
been  ruined.  The  begging  is  only  an  unpleasant  ex- 
hibition of  that  ruin.  During  this  course  of  dissipation, 
the  young  man,  in  addition  to  the  exhaustion  of  his 
fortune,  ruins  his  health.  His  lungs  fall  into  consump- 
tion. An  unskilled  doctor  may  tell  you  it  is  disease 
of  the  lungs.  But  it  is  no  more  disease  of  the  lungs, 
than  was  begging  the  man's  financial  malady.  In 
either  case,  the  apparent  disease  is  only  an  exhibition 
of  the  constitutional  malady. 

In  brief,  a  local  disease  is  an  impossibility.  Every 
disease  must  be  systemic  before  it  can  assume  any  local 
expression.  Or,  in  other  words,  every  local  patholog- 
ical manifestation  is  an  expression  of  systemic  patho- 
logical conditions. 

Now  what  is  the  practical  value  of  this  argument  ? 
I  reply  :  So  long  as  people  believe  bronchitis  to  be 


16  A  VITAL   POINT. 

a  disease  of  the  throat,  or  consumption  a  disease  of  the 
lungs,  so  long  will  they  labor  under  the  hallucination 
that  a  cure  is  to  be  found  in  applications  to  these  parts. 
But  when  they  are  convinced  that  these  diseases  are 
local  expressions  of  morbid  conditions,  pervading  the 
whole  organism,  then  whatever  will  invigorate  their 
general  health,  as  nature's  hygienic  agents,  will  receive 
their  first  and  principal  attention. 

If  this  were  theory,  without  practical  bearings,  I 
should  apologize  for  its  introduction.  But  as  the  idea 
of  local  disease  leads  to  innumerable  blunders  in  medi- 
cal treatment,  it  is  necessary  to  expose  it.  In  this 
work,  "Weak  Lungs,  and  How  to  Make  Them 
Strong,"  designed  for  the  people,  it  is  of  the  first  im- 
portance fully  to  explain  the  dependence  of  the  lungs 
upon  the  general  vitality.  So  prevalent  is  the  idea  of 
the  local  character  of  disease,  that  I  deemed  it  neces- 
sary to  make  the  explanation  extremely  simple,  by 
multiplied  illustrations. 

A  gentleman  from  another  State,  was  with  me  to  be 
treated  for  rheumatism.  He  thought  the  disease  was 
entirely  confined  to  his  legs.  When  one  of  the  assist- 
ants read  over  his  prescription,  and  the  patient  ob- 
served numerous  exercises  for  the  arms  and  trunk,  he 
constantly  exclaimed,  "Why,  he  has  forgotten  that  the 
disease  is  in  my  legs  ! " 

An  intelligent  lady  said,  "I  have  a  severe  neuralgia 


THE    TUBERCULOUS    DIATHESIS.  17 

just  over  this  eye,  with  soreness  in  the  pit  of  the  stom- 
ach, and  cold  feet ;  beside  these,  I  am  perfectly  well." 


THE  SCROFULOUS  OR  TUBERCULOUS 
DIATHESIS. 

By  this  is  meant  that  peculiar  morbid  condition  of 
the  system  which  gives  rise  to  the  deposition  of  tuber- 
culous matter,  under  certain  exciting  causes.  This 
taint  is  sometimes  inherited,  but  it  may  be  acquired  at 
any  time  from  infancy  to  old  age. 

SIGNS  OF  THE  TUBERCULAR  OR  SCROFULOUS  DlA- 

THESIS.  The  child  has  full  cheeks,  with  pale,  pasty 
complexion.  If  the  complexion  be  dark,  the  color  is 
sallow ;  if  fair,  the  color  is  wax-like ;  the  pupils  are 
large,  eyelashes  long,  the  face  is  often  very  sweet. 
In  infancy  the  child  is  generally  large,  flesh  soft,  head 
large,  trunk  small,  belly  full,  digestion  imperfect, 
bowels  irregular,  urine  turbid,  skin  very  soft,  or,  dry 
and  harsh,  with  scaly  eruption ;  the  perspiration  from 
the  feet  has  a  peculiar  fetid  odor. 

The  most  important  feature  is  defective  digestion. 
Dr.  TODD  calls  it  "Strumous  Dyspepsia."  In  his 
opinion  "it  presents  a  more  characteristic  feature  of 
this  habit  of  body  than  any  physiognomical  portrait 
which  has  yet  been  drawn  of  it.  In  this  respect  it  is 
2* 


18  THE   TUBERCULOUS    DIATHESIS. 

more  to  be  depended  on  than  either  the  fine  skin,  the 
clear  delicate  complexion,  the  light  hair,  large  blue 
eyes  of  the  one,  or  the  dull,  swarthy-colored  skin,  sal- 
low complexion,  swollen  countenance,  dark  hair,  and 
tumid  lips  of  the  other.  It  betokens  indeed  little  famil- 
iarity with  scrofula  to  connect  it  with  any  particular 
temperament,  for  it  belongs  to  all  temperaments, — to 
the  sanguine,  phlegmatic,  nervous,  melancholic,  and  to 
all  their  varieties  and  combinations.  But  upon  what- 
ever temperament  the  disordered  habit  which  we  call 
Scrofula,  may  engraft  itself,  we  venture  to  say  that 
this  form  of  dyspepsia,  will  also  there  be  found ;  and, 
therefore,  being  constantly  present  with  it,  proceeding 
and  accompanying  the  various  symptoms  which  issue 
from  it,  it  would  be  contrary  to  all  reason  to  refuse  to 
it  an  important  share  in  the  development  of  this  dis- 
ordered habit,  and  in  the  production  of  the  local  affec- 
tions which  have  hitherto  too  much  engrossed  the  at- 
tention, to  the  exclusion  of  a  proper  consideration  of 
the  constitutional  disease." 

The  leading  characteristics  of  Strumous  dyspepsia, 
are,  unnatural  redness  of  tongue  at  the  margin  and  ex- 
tremity. Sometimes  it  is  covered  with  a  dirty  coat. 
The  appetite  is  capricious.  There  is  considerable  thirst 
and  bad  breath.  The  evacuations  have  a  clay-like  ap- 
pearance. There  is  generally  a  languor  and  disinclin- 
ation to  take  exercise  ;  irritability  ;  frequent  colds  on 


SYMPTOMS   OF    CONSUMPTION.  19 

slight  exposure  ;     sore  throat ;     enlarged  tonsils,  and 
frequent  inflammation  of  the  eyelids. 

While  the  indications  here  enumerated  are  the  prom- 
inent ones,  they  are  by  no  means  all  present  in  each 
case. 


SYMPTOMS  OF  CONSUMPTION. 

FIRST  STAGE.  Cough  is  generally  the  first  symp- 
tom. For  a  time  there  may  be  but  one  or  two  slight 
efforts  upon  rising  in  the  morning.  Then  it  recurs 
during  the  day.  And  now  again  after  any  effort 
which  hurries  the  breathing,  and  not  unfrequently 
upon  lying  down  at  night.  With  the  morning  cough 
there  soon  comes  slight  expectoration,  scarcely  thicker 
than  saliva.  The  patient  assures  you  it  comes  from 
his  throat.  There  is  short  breathing  after  any  con- 
siderable exertion,  with  a  sense  of  tightness  in  the 
chest.  The  pulse  becomes  quicker.  This  is  espe- 
cially noticeable  in  the  evening,  and  after  a  full  meal. 
Chilliness  in  the  evening,  followed  by  a  slight  fever, 
with  heat  in  the  palms  of  the  hands  and  soles  of  the 
feet,  which  continues  during  the  night.  After  some 
time  perspiration  comes  on,  generally  towards  morn- 
ing. The  patient  is  disturbed  by  a  cough  during  the 
night. 

The  patient's  general  aspect  is  changed.     His  face 


20  SYMPTOMS   OF   CONSUMPTION. 

is  pale  and  languid  in  the  morning,  and  flushed  in  the 
evening.  He  is  perceptibly  thinner.  His  gait  and 
voice  indicate  loss  of  vitality. 

If  these  symptoms  come  on  in  the  spring,  and  the 
patient,  taking  warning,  seeks  the  country  and  out  door 
exercise,  he  soon  improves,  and  believes  with  his  friends 
that  he  is  restored;  but  the  autumn  undeceives  them. 

Usually  in  this  early  stage,  if  the  collar  bone,  or 
the  space  below  it,  be  rapped,  a  dull  sound  will  be  per- 
ceived, generally  more  on  one  side  than  the  other.  If 
the  ear  be  applied,  it  will  be  found  that  on  the  duller 
side  the  respiratory  murmur  is  less  soft  and  the  reso- 
nance of  the  voice  greater.  This  generally  leaves  no 
doubt  of  tubercular  disease. 

SECOND  STAGE.  The  expectoration  which  had  the 
appearance  of  saliva,  now  begins  to  contain  small  yel- 
low lumps  of  considerable  consistency,  and  perhaps 
little  points  or  streaks  of  blood.  The  evening  chills 
are  more  marked ;  the  morning  perspiration  more  pro- 
fuse. The  pulse  is  rapid,  even  in  the  morning,  and 
the  respiration  hurried  even  when  the  patient  is  at  rest. 
Emaciation  and  soft  muscle  attract  attention.  The  face 
is  very  pale  in  the  morning,  and  bears  a  circumscribed 
flush  of  the  cheek — one  or  both — in  the  afternoon  or 
evening.  Percussion  and  auscultation  now  reveal 
marked  progress  in  the  morbid  changes. 


SYMPTOMS    OF    CONSUMPTION.  21 

THIRD  STAGE.  This  is  often  spoken  of  as  the  col- 
liquative  stage,  on  account  of  the  profuse  perspiration, 
abundant  expectoration,  and  diarrhea. 

I  have  described  the  most  common  history  of  this 
terrible  malady.  But  there  are  no  two  cases  alike. 

There  are  many  varieties  of  the  disease,  which  are 
known  by  names  more  or  less  descriptive,  as  for  ex- 
ample :  "Rapid  Consumption,"  Febrile  Consumption," 
"Chronic  Consumption,"  "Dyspeptic  Consumption," 
"Latent  Consumption,"  and  "Infantile  Consumption." 

COUGH.  Usually,  the  earliest  symptom  which  ex- 
cites apprehension  of  pulmonary  disease,  is  a  slight 
cough.  At  first  it  occurs  only  in  the  morning,  but  as 
the  disease  advances  it  becomes  more  frequent  and  oc- 
curs at  all  hours  of  the  day.  Not  unfrequently  it  is  a 
most  distressing  symptom.  It  justly  excites  the  pa- 
tient's apprehensions,  unless  it  can  be  traced  to  some 
other  cause  than  phthisis,  and  especially  if  it  is  excited 
by  exertion,  as  going  up  stairs  rapidly,  running,  laugh- 
ing, singing  or  speaking.  Soon  there  is  hawked  from 
the  throat  a  transparent  frothy  fluid,  not  unlike  that 
which  accompanies  a  slight  catarrh,  and  is  usually  at- 
tributed to  this  cause.  The  cough,  as  the  disease  ad- 
vances, becomes  very  constant;  sleep  is  broken  by  it, 
and  every  attempt  at  conversation,  or  exercise,  is  frus- 
trated. As  the  terrible  destruction  proceeds  the  breath- 


22  SYMPTOMS   OF   CONSUMPTION. 

lessness  and  suffocation  are  sometimes  most  distressing. 
Although  cough  is  the  first  symptom  of  phthisis  and 
plays  so  important  a  part  in  its  entire  history,  occasion- 
ally a  case  of  true  tubercular  consumption  presents  no 
cough  from  first  to  last. 


•&• 


EXPECTORATION.  After  the  cough  has  continued  a 
few  weeks,  or  sometimes  months,  a  fluid  resembling 
saliva  is  expectorated.  This  by  degrees  becomes  stringy 
and  tenacious,  and  specks  of  opaque  matter  appear. — 
Sometimes  these  specks  are  yellow,  sometimes  they  ap- 
proach to  green,  and  not  unfrequently  they  possess  an 
ashen  color.  If  thrown  into  water,  they  assume  a 
partly  sinking,  partly  floating  condition.  As  the 
disease  advances,  streaks  of  blood  appear,  and  the  ex- 
pectoration becomes  less  tenacious  but  more  opaque. — 
It  also  assumes  a  homogeneous  appearance  ;  is  brought 
up  in  distinct  masses,  and  with  more  ease  than  at  first. 
These  masses  sink  in  water,  or  if  mixed  with  ropy 
matter  are  suspended  at  different  depths.  In  the  second 
stage,  dark  and  even  black  streaks,  and  frequently  rice- 
like  bodies,  are  mixed  with  the  expectoration.  In  the 
last  stages  the  expectorated  matter  often  becomes  gelat- 
inous, of  a  dark  hue  and  with  fetid  odor.  The  various 
changes  which  occur  in  the  character  of  the  expectora- 
tion differ  in  different  cases  and  are  more  or  less  af- 
fected by  catarrh  and  inflammation. 


SYMPTOMS    OF   CONSUMPTION.  23 

As  a  symptom  it  is  very  equivocal,  and  may  occur 
independent  of  phthisis.  In  rare  instances  it  does  not 
appear  at  all.  The  time  of  its  commencement  and  the 
various  changes  which  occur  in  its  character  differ  very 
greatly  in  different  cases.  But  the  ash-colored  masses 
which  appear  in  the  advanced  stage  is  almost  univers- 
ally accompanied  by  tubercles  in  the  lungs.  The 
quantity  of  expectorated  matter  is  sometimes  very  great, 
but  in  some  instances  it  is  extremely  small,  and  that 
too  in  cases  which,  upon  examination,  show  large  exca- 
vations in  the  lungs.  Before  the  tubercles  commence 
suppuration,  the  matter  expectorated  must  be  supplied 
by  the  bronchial  membrane  ;  the  surface  of  the  tuber- 
cles affords  an  additional  source,  but  the  quantity  from 
them  is  often  much  less  than  their  extent  would  indi- 
cate. 

DYSPNOEA.  Tuberculous  disease  of  the  lungs  can- 
not exist  to  any  considerable  extent,  without  dyspnoea, 
or  difficult  breathing.  Sometimes  it  is  one  of  the  first 
symptoms,  manifesting  itself  during  exertion,  or  when 
attempting  fully  to  inflate  the  lungs.  Where  the  pa- 
tient takes  little  or  no  exercise  it  may  not  attract 
much  attention.  When  the  disease  is  making  rapid 
progress  dyspnoea  is  quite  noticeable  ;  sometimes  the 
rapidity  of  breathing  is  nearly  doubled.  Immediately 
after  an  attack  of  liemoptysis,  the  dyspnoea  is  often 
severe  ;  at  other  times  the  discharge  of  blood  relieves 


24  SYMPTOMS   OF   CONSUMPTION. 

both  cough  and  difficult  breathing.  As  this  symptom 
occurs  without  pain  it  may  fail  to  attract  notice  until  it 
becomes  quite  marked.  Persons  of  a  scrofulous  or 
tuberculous  constitution  are  liable  to  congestion  of  the 
lungs  and  dyspnoea  upon  great  exertion,  long  before 
the  lung  tissue  is  involved. 

Although  dyspnoea  is  produced  by  other  causes,  if  it 
occur  in  a  person  with  strumous  taint,  it  may  justly 
arouse  suspicion. 

PULSE.  If  the  pulse  of  a  healthy  person,  when  re- 
clining in  an  easy  chair,  is  sixty  beats  per  minute,  it 
will  be,  when  he  is  standing,  sixty-six ;  if  his  pulse  be 
eighty  beats  in  a  reclining  position,  it  will  be  ninety- 
three  when  he  is  standing ;  if  it  be  one  hundred  beats 
sitting,  it  will  be  one  hundred  and  nineteen,  standing; 
if  one  hundred  and  twenty  beats  when  he  is  at  rest, 
it  will  be  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  when  erect. — 
This  table  is  given  by  the  distinguished  DR.  GUY, 
and  appears  in  the  "Encyclopedia  of  Anatomy  and 
Physiology,"  in  the  article,  "Pulse." 

In  consumptives,  there  is  little  or  no  such  difference  ; 
indeed,  it  is  not  unusual  that  the  pulse  of  the  phthisical 
patient,  which  is  one  hundred  beats  per  minute  when 
reclining,  is  precisely  the  same  in  standing.  This 
is  one  of  the  diagnostic  indications'  of  the  malady. — 
While  it  is  not  claimed  that  the  difference  in  the  rapid- 


SYMPTOMS  OF   CONSUMPTION.  25 

ity  of  the  heart's  action,  among  the  healthy,  is  in  strict 
accordance  with  the  table  given,  it  is  true,  that  there  is, 
when  the  experiment  is  properly  made,  almost  invari- 
ably a  marked  difference,  which  is  not  seen  among  con- 
sumptives. Its  entire  absence  excites  suspicion  of 
phthisis  pulmonalis. 

If  a  person,  free  from  phthisical  taint,  be  weak,  the 
effect  of  rising,  upon  the  pulse,  will  be  still  greater. 
As  debility  increases  this  variation  of  the  heart's  action, 
we  might  conclude  that  the  weakness  of  consumptives 
would  lead  to  the  same  results.  That  it  does  not,  is 
remarkable,  and  serves  to  increase  the  value  of  this 
diagnostic  indication. 

If  a  man  comes  to  my  Institution  with  a  pulse  above 
ninety,  I.  at  once  suspect  phthisis  ;  for,  a  pulse  so  rapid, 
in  most  other  diseases,  disqualifies  a  person  for  exer- 
tion. But  we  must  not  forget  that  there  are  wide  de- 
partures from  the  average  rapidity  of  the  heart's  action. 
Napoleon's  pulse  was  only  forty.  In  such  a  person, 
were  the  pulse  to  rise  to  sixty,  it  would  excite  the 
same  suspicion,  that  a  pulse  of  one  hundred  would,  in 
a  man  whose  natural  rate  was  seventy.  My  own 
pulse,  during  many  years,  has  ranged  at  fifty-six. 
Were  it  to  rise  to  eighty,  it  would  be,  for  me,  as 
rapid  as  a  pulse  of  the  average  man  at  ninety-five. 
But  without  considering  these  very  unusual  departures 
from  the  normal  standard,  before  examining  my  patient's 
3 


26  SYMPTOMS    OF    CONSUMPTION. 

chest,  if  I  find  the  pulse  nearly  one  hundred,  grave  sus- 
picions are  excited. 

I  have  given  more  attention  to  the  condition  of  the 
pulse,  because  it  is  one  of  the  symptoms,  which  the  non- 
professional  public  may  advantageously  study  in  arriv- 
ing at  the  condition  of  then*  lungs.  If  your  natural 
pulse  be  seventy-five,  and  now,  with  wasting  flesh,  and 
rapid  breathing,  it  almost  uniformly  reaches  ninety,  it 
may  justly  excite  suspicion  of  your  lungs. 

During  the  treatment  of  a  case  of  phthisis  I  am  in 
the  habit  of  watching  the  pulse  with  great  interest. 
If  it  falls  from  one  hundred  to  ninety,  to  eighty-five, 
to  eighty,  I  am  more  encouraged  than  by  any  other 
change.  Indeed,  the  non-medical  man,  has  within  his 
reach,  without  a  stethoscope,  or  skill,  one  of  .the  most 
reliable  of  all  means  of  determining  the  existence  of 
phthisis  pulmonalis,  and  of  the  progress  made  in  its 
treatment. 

HEMOPTYSIS.  Hemoptysis,  or  bleeding  from  the 
lungs,  though  frequently  classed  among  the  causes  of 
phthisis,  from  the  fact  that  it  often  precedes  other 
symptoms,  is  more  commonly  the  result  of  tubercles 
already  existing  in  the  lungs.  Rarely  is  it  a  cause  of 
consumption.  When  it  occurs  without  tubercles,  it  will 
be  found,  on  examination,  that  the  patient  is  decidedly 
scrofulous.  If  not  the  result  of  accident,  or  vicarious 


SYMPTOMS   OF  CONSUMPTION.  27 

«#  menstruation,  it  may  be  fairly  attributed  to  consump- 
tion. It  may  occur  in  any  stage  of  the  disease  and 
even  before  the  existence  of  cough.  Sometimes  only 
a  mouthful  of  blood ;  sometimes  a  pint,  and  where  the 
lungs  are  extensively  disorganized  several  pints  are  dis- 
charged at  one  time.  Except  in  the  latter  case  it  is 
rarely  dangerous  to  life.  It  is  more  frequent  in  females 
than  in  males  ;  and  in  persons  of  middle  age  than  those 
either  young  or  old.  When  it  precedes  other  symp- 
toms of  phthisis  it  usually  comes  on  a  few  hours  after 
considerable  exertion.  Although  not  always  a  marked 
symptom  of  consumption,  it  is  present  in  a  majority  of 
cases. 

EMACIATION.  Emaciation  is  a  prominent  feature  of 
consumption.  One  eminent  writer  says  that  in  persons 
between  the  ages  of  forty  and  fifty,  he  has  found  it  one 
of  the  earliest  signs,  occurring  even  when  there  was  no 
cough,  dyspnosa,  increased  frequency  of  pulse,  or  other 
marked  indication.  It  is  seen  earlier  in  males  than  in 
females.  In  young  girls  there  is  often  considerable 
disease  of  the  lung  tissue  before  any  loss  of  flesh. 

Emaciation  may  justly  excite  apprehensiou,  particu- 
larly when  accompanied  with  lassitude,  cough,  and  an 
increased  rapidity  of  the  heart's  action. 

PAIN.  Pain  in  the  chest  is  an  uncertain  sign  of 
phthisis.  The  lung  is  much  less  sensitive  than  most 


28  SYMPTOMS    OF    CONSUMPTION. 

other  tissues  and  suffers  extensive  disorganization  with- 
out corresponding  painful  sensations.  Still,  they  are 
frequently  experienced  in  slight  degree,  in  the  first 
stages,  under  the  clavicle,  or  in  the  region  of  the  lower 
bone  of  the  sternum.  During  the  second  and  third 
stages  it  often  becomes  very  severe  in  the  whole  of  the 
affected  region. 

FEVER.  The  hectic  flush  does  not  appear  until  the 
disease  has  made  considerable  progress,  hence  it  is  not 
particularly  important  as  a  diagnostic  indication.  In 
the  early  stages  it  is  scarcely  noticeable.  It  occurs  in 
daily  paroxysms,  commencing  towards  evening  and 
often  lasting  into  the  night. 

PERSPIRATION.  The  night  sweat  is  really  the  third 
stage  of  the  fever  paroxysm.  It  comes  on  towards 
morning,,  first  only  on  the  upper  portions  of  the  body, 
but  as  the  disease  advances,  extends  over  the  whole  sur- 
face. It  indicates  an  advanced  stage  of  the  malady. 

DIARRHEA.  Diarrhea  usually  does  not  occur  until 
the  third  stage  of  consumption.  If  it  is  severe  the 
disease  is  making  rapid  progress.  The  evacuations 
are  generally  of  a  yellowish  color.  It  is  often  attended 
with  painful  sensations,  but  commonly  abates  the  cough, 
expectoration  and  perspiration.  It  is  of  little  import- 
ance as  a  symptom.  The  diarrhea  is  frequently  ac- 
companied by  vomiting. 


CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION.  29 

PHYSICAL  SIGNS.  If  the  hand  be  placed  upon  the 
chest  over  a  lung,  suffering  from  certain  diseased  condi- 
tions, by  the  sense  of  feeling  we  may  sometimes  dis- 
cover the  nature  of  the  malady.  If  the  ear  be  applied 
to  the  chest  over  a  diseased  heart  or  lung,  the  abnormal 
condition  is  easily  determined.  If  you  rap  the  ribs 
over  a  diseased  lung,  the  sound  is  peculiar.  If  one 
lung,  in  part,  or  altogether,  ceases  to  respire,  by  a 
comparison  of  the  two  halves  of  the  chest  with  the  eye, 
the  fact  is  readily  determined.  The  indications  thus  ar- 
rived at,  are  known  as  physical  signs.  They  constitute 
a  most  interesting  chapter  in  medical  science.  No  other 
has  more  deeply  interested  the  profession  ;  but  as,  gen- 
erally speaking,  the  people  to  whom  this  book  is  ad- 
dressed, will  scarcely  undertake  to  practice  auscultation 
and  percussion,  I  have  thought  best  to  pass  over  the 
subject  with  this  brief  allusion. 


CAUSES  OF  CONSUMPTION. 
SIR  JAMES  CLARK  says,  "It  may  be  fairly  ques- 
tioned, whether  the  proportion  of  cures  of  confirmed 
consumption  is  greater  at  the  present  day  than  in  the 
time  of  Hippocrates ;    and  although  the   public  may 
continue  to  be  the  dupes  of  boasting  charlatans,  I  am 
3* 


30  CAUSES   OF    CONSUMPTION. 

persuaded  that  no  essential  progress  has  been  made  or 
ran  be  made  in  the  cure  of  consumption,  until  the  dis- 
ease has  been'  treated  upon  different  principles  from 
what  it  hitherto  has  been.  If  the  labor  and  ingenuity, 
which  have  been  misapplied  in  fruitless  efforts  to  cure 
an  irremediable  condition  of  the  lungs,  had  been 
rightly  directed  to  the  investigation  of  the  causes  and 
nature  of  tuberculous  disease,  the  subject  of  our  in- 
quiry would  have  been  regarded  in  a  very  different 
light  from  that  in  which  it  is  at  the  present  period." 

While  I  shall  not  attempt  a  discussion  of  all  the 
causes  of  phthisis  pulmonalis,  I  shall,  in  a  brief  and 
familiar  way,  consider  the  more  obvious  sources  of  this 
terrible  malady,  and  particularly  those  which  all 
classes — even  the  poorest — may  remove  or  avoid. 

IMPURE  AIR  A  CAUSE  OF  CONSUMPTION.  In  dis- 
cussing the  causes  of  a  disease,  whose  principal  ex- 
pression is  in  the  lungs,  nothing  can  be  more  legiti- 
mate than  a  consideration  of  the  air  we  breathe.  In 
full  respiration,  it  penetrates  every  one  of  the  many 
millions  of  air  cells. 

DUST.  Every  species  of  dust  must  prove  injur- 
ious. \Yorkers  in  those  factories  where  tools  are 
ground  and  polished,  soon  die  of  pulmonary  disease. 


CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION.  31 

The  dust  of  cotton  and  woolen  factories,  that  of  the 
street,  and  that  which  is  constantly  rising  from  our 
carpets,  are  all  mischievous.  M.  BENOISTON  found 
among  cotton  spinners  the  mortality  from  consumption, 
1.8  per  thousand  per  annum  ;  coal  men,  41 ;  those 
breathing  an  atmosphere  charged  with  mineral  dust, 
30 ;  dust  from  animal  matter,  as  hair,  wool,  bristles, 
feathers,  54  per  thousand ;  of  these  last  the  greatest 
mortality  was  among  workers  in  feathers  ;  least  among 
workers  in  wool.  The  average  liability  to  consump- 
tion among  persons  breathing  the  kinds  of  dust 
named,  was  24  per  thousand,  or  2-40  per  cent.  In 
a  community  where  many  flints  were  made,  there 
was  great  mortality  from  consumption,  the  average 
length  of  life  being  only  19  years. 

GASES.  Among  the  poisonous  gases  which  infect 
our  atmosphere,  carbonic  acid  deserves  special  consid- 
eration. The  principal  result  of  all  respiration  and 
combustion,  it  exists  in  minute  quantities  everywhere, 
but  when  it  accumulates  to  the  extent  of  two  or  three 
per  cent.,  it  seriously  compromises  health.  I  have 
seen  the  last  half  of  an  eloquent  sermon  entirely  lost 
upon  the  congregation.  Carbonic  acid  had  so  accumu- 
lated, that  it  operated  like  a  moderate  dose  of  opium. 
Xo  peroration  would  arouse  them.  Nothing  but  open 
windows  could  start  life's  currents.  In  lectures  before 


32  CAUSES  OF  CONSUMPTION. 

Lyceums,  I  often  have  a  quarrel  with  the  managers 
about  ventilation.  There  is,  even  among  the  more 
intelligent,  a  strange  indifference  to  the  subject. 

As  this  work  is  not  designed  to  guide  architects  in 
the  construction  of  buildings,  I, will  not  indicate,  as  I 
have  done  in  another  work,  the  best  known  means  for 
ventilation. 

The  following  fact  graphically  illustrates  the  influ- 
ence of  carbonic  acid  on  human  life. 

THE  SUICIDE.  A  young  Frenchman,  M.  Deal, 
finding  his  hopes  of  cutting  a  figure  in  the  world 
rather  dubious,  resolved  to  commit  suicide,  but,  that 
he  might  not  leave  the  world  without  producing  a  sen- 
sation, and  flourishing  in  the  newspapers,  he  resolved 
to  kill  himself  with  carbonic  acid.  So,  shutting  him- 
self in  a  close  room,  he  succeeded  in  his  purpose,  leav- 
ing to  the  world  the  following  account,  which  was 
found  near  his  dead  body  the  next  morning : 

"I  have  thought  it  useful  in  the  interest  of  science, 
to  make  known  the  effects  of  charcoal  upon  man.  I 
place  a  lamp,  a  candle,  and  a  watch  on  my  table,  and 
commence  the  ceremony. 

"  It  is  a  quarter  past  ten  ;  I  have  just  lighted  the 
stove  ;  the  charcoal  burns  feebly. 

"  Twenty  minutes  past  ten ;  the  pulse  is  calm,  and 
beats  at  its  usual  rate. 

4 '  Thirty  minutes  past  ten  ;    a  thick  vapor  gradually 


CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION.  33 

fills  the  room  ;  the  candle  is  nearly  extinguished  ;  I 
begin  to  feel  a  violent  headache ;  my  eyes  fill  with 
tears  ;  I  feel  a  general  sense  of  discomfort ;  the  pulse 
is  agitated. 

"  Forty  minutes  past  ten  ;  my  candle  has  gone  out ; 
the  lamp  still  burns  ;  the  veins  at  my  temple  throb  as 
if  they  would  burst ;  I  feel  very  sleepy ;  I  suffer  hor- 
ribly in  the  stomach ;  my  pulse  is  at  eighty. 

"Fifty  minutes   past   ten;     I   am   almost   stifled; 

strange  ideas  assail  me I  can  scarcely 

breathe I  shall  not  go  far. 

There  are  symptoms  of  madness 

"Sixty  minutes  past  ten  ;  I  can  scarcely  write     . 

my  sight  is  troubled My  lamp 

is  going  out I  did  not  think  it  would  be 

such  agony  to  die Ten     .... 

Here  followed  some  quite  illegible  characters.  Life 
had  ebbed.  On  the  following  morning  he  was  found 
on  the  floor." 

THE  BLACK  HOLE  or  CALCUTTA.  The  famous 
case  of  the  "Black  Hole  of  Calcutta"  has  been  so 
universally  read  that  the  facts  are  new  to  none ;  but 
the  version  of  that  terrible  affair,  by  Mr.  HOLWELL, 
may  be  new  to  some  of  my  readers.  I  believe  no 
similar  fact  serves  so  well  to  impress  the  subject  upon 
the  public  mind,  and  therefore  reproduce  his  account, 
which  appeared  in  the  Annual  Register  for  1758. 

"Figure  to  yourself  the  situation  of  a  hundred  and 
forty-six  wretches,  exhausted  by  continual  fatigue  and 


34  CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION. 

action,  crammed  together  In  a  cube  of  eighteen  feet, 
in  a  close  sultry  night  in  Bengal,  shut  up  to  the  east- 
ward and  southward  (the  only  quarters  whence  air 
could  reach  us)  by  dead  walls,  and  by  a  wall  and  door 
to  the  north,  open  only  to  the  westward  by  two  win- 
dows strongly  barred  with  iron,  from  which  we  could 
receive  scarce  any  circulation  of  fresh  air.  We  had 
been  but  a  few  minutes  confined  before  every  one  fell 
into  a  perspiration  so  profuse,  you  can  form  no  idea  of 
it.  This  brought  on  a  raging  thirst,  which  increased 
in  proportion  as  the  body  was  drained  of  its  moisture. 
Various  expedients  were  thought  of  to  give  more  room 
and  air.  To  gain  the  former  it  was  moved  to  put  off 
their  clothes  ;  this  was  approved  as  a  happy  motion, 
airl  in  a  few  moments  every  one  was  stripped — myself, 
Mr.  Court,  and  the  two  young  gentlemen  by  me,  ex- 
ceptcd.  For  a  little  while  they  flattered  themselves 
with  having  gained  a  mighty  advantage ;  every  hat 
was  put  in  motion  to  gain  a  circulation  of  air,  and  Mr. 
Baillie  proposed  that  every  man  should  sit  down  on  his 
hams.  This  expedient  was  several  times  put  in  prac- 
tice, and  at  each  time  many  of  the  poor  creatures, 
whose  natural  strength  was  less  than  that  of  others, 
or  who  had  been  more  exhausted,  and  could  not  im- 
mediately recover  their  legs  when  the  word  was  given 
to  rise — fell  to  rise  no  more,  for  they  were  instantly 
trod  to  death  or  suffocated.  When  the  whole  body 
sat  down,  they  were  so  closely  wedged  together,  that 
they  were  obliged  to  use  many  efforts  before  they  could 
get  up  again.  Before  nine  o'clock  every  man's  thirst 
grew  intolerable,  and  respiration  difficult.  Efforts 


CAUSES    OF    CONSUMPTION.  35 

were  made  to  force  the  door,  but  in  vain.  Many  in- 
sults were  used  to  the  guard  to  provoke  them  to  fire 
on  us.  For  my  own  part,  I  hitherto  felt  little  pain  or 
uneasiness,  but  what  resulted  from  my  anxiety  for  the 
sufferings  of  those  within.  By  keeping  my  face  close 
between  two  of  the  bars,  I  obtained  air  enough  to  give 
my  lungs  easy  play,  though  my  perspiration  was  ex- 
cessive, and  thirst  commencing.  At  this  period,  so 
strong  a  urinous  volatile  effluvia  came  from  the  prison, 
that  I  was  not  able  to  turn  my  head  that  way  for  more 
than  a  few  seconds  at  a  time. 

"Now  every  body,  except  those  situated  in  and  near 
the  windows,  began  to  grow  outrageous,  and  many  de- 
lirious. Water!  water!  became  the  general  cry.  An 
old  Jemmantdaar,  taking  pity  on  us,  ordered  the  peo- 
ple to  bring  us  some  skins  of  water.  This  was  what 
I  dreaded.  I  foresaw  it  would  prove  the  ruin  of  the 
small  chance  left  us,  and  essayed  many  times  to  speak 
to  him  privately  to  forbid  it  being  brought ;  but  the 
clamor  was  so  loud  it  became  impossible.  The  water 
appeared.  Words  cannot  paint  the  universal  agitation 
and  raving  the  sight  of  it  threw  us  into.  I  nattered 
myself  that  some,  by  preserving  an  equal  temper  of 
mind,  might  outlive  the  night ;  but  now  the  reflection 
that  gave  me  the  greatest  pain  was,  that  I  saw  no  pos- 
sibility of  one  escaping  to  tell  the  dismal  tale.  Until 
the  water  came  I  had  not  myself  suffered  much  from  thirst, 
which  instantly  grew  excessive.  We  had  no  means  of 
conveying  it  into  the  prison  but  by  hats  forced  through 
the  bars ;  and  thus  myself,  and  Coles,  and  Scott,  sup- 
plied them  as  fast  as  possible.  But  those  who  have 


36  CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION. 

experienced  intense  thirst,  or  are  acquainted  with  the 
cause  and  nature  of  this  appetite,  will  be  sufficiently 
sensible  it  could  receive  no  more  than  a  momentary 
alleviation ;  the  cause  still  subsisted.  Though  we 
brought  full  hats  through  the  bars,  there  ensued  such 
violent  struggles  and  frequent  contests  to  get  it,  that 
before  it  reached  the  lips  of  any  one,  there  would  be 
scarcely  a  small  teacupful  left  in  them.  These  sup- 
plies, like  sprinkling  water  on  fire,  only  seemed  to  feed 
the  flame.  Oh  I  my  dear  sir,  how  shall  I  give  you  a 
just  conception  of  what  I  felt  at  the  cries  and  cravings 
of  those  in  the  remoter  parts  of  the  prison,  who  could 
not  entertain  a  probable  hope  of  obtaining  a  drop,  yet 
could  not  divest  themselves  of  expectation,  however 
unavailing,  calling  on  me  by  the  tender  considerations 
of  affection  and  friendship.  The  confusion  now  be- 
came general  and  horrid.  Several  quitted  the  other 
window  (the  only  chance  they  had  for  life)  to  force 
their  way  to  the  water,  and  the  throng  and  press  upon 
the  window  was  beyond  bearing ;  many,  forcing  their 
way  from  the  further  part  of  the  room,  pressed  down 
those  in  their  passage  who  had  less  strength,  and  tram- 
pled them  to  death. 

' '  From  about  nine  to  eleven  I  sustained  this  cruel 
scene,  still  supplying  them  with  wtaer,  though  my  legs 
were  almost  broke  with  the  weight  against  them.  By 
this  time  I  myself  was  near  pressed  to  death,  and  my 
two  companions,  with  Mr.  Parker,  who  had  forced 
himself  to  the  window,  were  really  so.  At  last  I  be- 
came so  pressed  and  wedged  up,  I  was  deprived  of  all 
motion.  Determined  now  to  give  everything  up,  I 


CAUSES    OF    CONSUMPTION.  37 

called  to  them,  at  a  last  instance  of  their  regard,  that 
they  would  relieve  the  pressure  upon  me,  and  permit 
me  to  retire  out  of  the  window  to  die  in  quiet.  They 
gave  way,  and  with  much  difficulty  I  forced  a  passage 
into  the  centre  of  the  prison,  where  the  throng  was 
less  by  the  many  dead,  amounting  to  one-third,  and 
the  numbers  who  flocked  to  the  windows  ;  for  by  this 
time  they  had  water  also  at  the  other  window. 
I  laid  myself  down  on  some  of  the  dead,  and,  recom- 
mending myself  to  Heaven,  had  the  comfort  of  think- 
ing my  sufferings  could  have  no  long  duration.  My 
thirst  now  grew  insupportable,  and  the  difficulty  of 
breathing  much  increased ;  and  I  had  not  remained  in 
this  situation  ten  minutes  before  I  was  seized  with  a 
pain  in  my  breast,  and  palpitation  of  heart,  both  to 
the  most  exquisite  degree.  These  obliged  me  to  get 
up  again,  but  still  the  pain,  palpitation,  and  difficulty 
of  breathing,  increased.  I  retained  my  senses,  not- 
withstanding, and  had  the  grief  to  see  death  not  so 
near  me  as  I  had  hoped,  but  could  no  longer  bear  the 
pains  I  suffered,  without  attempting  a  relief,  which  1 
knew  fresh  air  would  and  could  only  give  me.  I  in- 
stantly determined  to  push  for  the  window  opposite  me, 
and  by  an  effort  of  double  the  strength  I  ever  before 
possessed,  gained  the  third  rank  at  it — with  one  hand 
seized  a  bar,  and  by  that  means  gained  a  second, 
though  I  think  there  were  at  least  six  or  seven  ranks 

O 

between  me  and  the  window.  In  a  few  moments  the 
pain,  palpitation,  and  difficulty  of  breathing  ceased,  but 
the  thirst  continued  intolerable.  I  called  aloud,  '  Wa- 
ter, for  God's  sake!'  I  had  been  concluded  dead  ;  but 
4 


38  CAUSES    OF    CONSUMPTION. 

as  soon  as  the  men  found  me  amongst  them,  they  still 
had  the  respect  and  tenderness  for  me  to  cry  out,  '  Give 
him  water!'  nor  would  one  of  them  at  the  window  at- 
tempt to  touch  it  till  I  had  drunk.  But  from  the  water 
I  had  no  relief;  my  thirst  rather  increased  by  it;  so  I  de- 
termined to  drink  no  more,  but  patiently  wait  the  event. 
I  kept  my  mouth  moist  from  time  to  time  by  sucking 
the  perspiration  out  of  my  shirt  sleeves,  and  catching 
the  drops  as  they  fell  like  heavy  rain  from  my  head  and 
face ;  you  can  hardly  imagine  how  unhappy  I  was  if 
any  of  them  escaped  my  mouth.  ...  I  was  ob- 
served by  one  of  my  companions  on  the  right,  in  the 
expedient  of  allaying  my  thirst  by  sucking  my  shirt 
sleeve.  He  took  the  hint,  and  robbed  me  from  time 
to  time  of  a  considerable  part  of  my  store,  though, 
after  I  detected  him,  I  had  the  address  to  begin  on 
that  sleeve  first  when  I  thought  my  reservoirs  were 
sufficiently  replenished,  and  our  mouths  and  noses 
often  met  in  contact.  This  man  was  one  of  the  few 
who  escaped  death,  and  he  has  since  paid  me  the  com- 
pliment of  assuring  me,  he  believed  he  owed  his  life  to 
the  many  comfortable  draughts  he  had  from  my  sleeves. 
No  Bristol  water  could  be  more  soft  or  pleasant  than 
what  arose  from  perspiration. 

"By  half-past  eleven  the  much  greater  number  of 
those  living  were  in  an  outrageous  delirium,  and  others 
quite  ungovernable ;  few  retaining  any  calmness  but 
the  ranks  near  the  windows.  They  now  all  found  that 
water,  instead  of  relieving  their  uneasiness,  rather 
heightened  it,  and  Air  !  air  !  was  the  general  cry. 
Every  insult  that  could  be  devised  against  the  guard 


CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION.  30 

was  repeated  to  provoke  them  to  fire  on  us,  every  man 
that  could,  rushing  tumultuously  towards  the  windows 
with  eager  hopes  of  meeting  the  first  shot.  But  these 
failing,  they,  whose  strength  and  spirits  were  quite  ex- 
hausted, laid  themselves  down,  and  quietly  expired 
upon  their  fellows  ;  others,  who  had  yet  some  strength 
and  vigor  left,  made  a  last  effort  for  the  windows,  and 
several  succeeded  by  leaping  and  scrambling  over  the 
backs  and  heads  of  those  in  the  first  ranks,  and  got 
hold  of  the  bars,  from  which  there  wTas  no  removing 
them.  Many  to  the  right  and  left  sunk  with  the  vio- 
lent pressure,  and  were  soon  suffocated ;  for  now  a 
steam  arose  from  the  living  and  the  dead,  which  affec- 
ed  us  in  all  its  circumstances,  as  if  we  were  forcibly 
held  by  our  heads  over  a  bowl  of  strong  volatile  spirit 
of  hartshorn  until  suffocated ;  nor  could  the  effluvia  of 
the  one  be  distinguished  from  the  other.  I  need  not 
ask  your  commiseration  when  I  tell  you  in  this  plight, 
from  half  an  hour  after  eleven  till  two  in  the  morning, 
I  sustained  the  weight  of  a  heavy  man  with  his  knees 
on  my  back,  and  the  pressure  of  his  whole  body  on  my 
head  ;  a  Dutch  sergeant,  who  had  taken  his  seat  on 
my  left  shoulder,  and  a  black  soldier  bearing  on  my 
right :  all  which  nothing  would  have  enabled  me  to 
support  but  the  props  and  pressure  equally  sustaining 
me  all  round.  The  two  latter  I  frequently  dislodged 
by  shifting  my  hold  on  the  bars,  and  driving  my 
knuckles  into  their  ribs ;  but  my  friend  above  stuck 
fast,  and,  as  he  held  by  two  bars,  was  immovable. 
The  repeated  trials  I  made  to  dislodge  this  insufferable 
iucumbrance  upon  me,  at  last  quite  exhausted  me,  and 


40  CAUSES    OF    CONSUMPTION. 

towards  two  o'clock,  finding  I  must  quit  the  window 
or  sink  where  I  was,  I  resolved  on  the  former,  having 
borne  truly,  for  the  sake  of  others,  infinitely  more  for 
life  than  the  best  of  it  is  worth. 

"I  was  at  this  time  sensible  of  no  pain,  and  little  un 
easiness.  I  found  a  stupor  coming  on  apace,  and  laid 
myself  down  by  that  gallant  old  man,  the  Rev.  Jervas 
Bellamy,  who  lay  dead  with  his  son,  the  lieutenant, 
hand  in  hand,  near  the  southernmost  wall  of  the  prison. 
Of  what  passed  in  the  interval,  to  the  time  of  resur- 
rection from  this  hole  of  horrors,  I  can  give  you  no 
account." 

At  six  in  the  morning  the  door  was  opened,  when 
only  twenty-three  out  of  the  hundred  and  forty-six 
still  breathed.  These  were  subsequently  revived. 

As  the  subject  of  ventilation  stands  first  in  import- 
ance among  those  bearing  on  the  prevention  of  con- 
sumption, I  give  one  additional  fact. 

STEAMER  "LONDONDERRY."  Tnis  steamer  left 
Liverpool  for  Sligo,  on  Friday,  Dec.  2d,  1848,  with 
two  hundred  passengers,  mostly  emigrants.  A  storm 
soon  came  on.  The  Captain  ordered  the  passengers 
into  the  steerage  cabin,  which  was  eighteen  feet  long, 
eleven  wide,  and  seven  high.  The  hatches  were  closed, 
and  a  tarpaulin  fastened  over  this  only  entrance  to  the 
cabin. 

The  poor  creatures  were  now  condemned  to  breathe 
the  same  ;a:  (  jer  and  over  again.  Then  followed  a 


CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION.  41 

dreadful  scene.  The  groans  of  the  dying,  the  curses 
and  shrieks  of  those  not  yet  in  the  agonies  of  death, 
must  have  been  inconceivably  horrible.  The  strug- 
gling mass  at  length  burst  open  the  hatches,  and  the 
mate  was  called  to  gaze  at  the  fearful  spectacle.  Sev- 
enty-two were  already  dead,  many  were  dying,  their 
bodies  convulsed,  the  blood  starting  from  their  nostrils, 
eyes  and  ears. 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  Captain  designed  to  suf- 
focate his  passengers,  but  that  he  was  simply  ignorant 
of  the  fact  that  air  which  has  passed  to  and  fro  in  the 
lungs,  becomes  a  deadly  poison. 

The  "Black  Hole  of  Calcutta,"  the  "Steamer  Lon- 
donderry," and  a  thousand  other  instances  where  im- 
mediate death  has  resulted  from  carbonic  acid,  consti- 
tute a  terrible  chapter  in  human  suffering  and  death ; 
but  they  are  all  as  nothing  compared  with  the  millions 
who  nightly  sleep  in  un ventilated  rooms,  from  which 
they  escape  with  life,  but  not  without  serious  injury. 
As  a  medical  man,  I  have  visited  thousands  of  sick 
rooms,  and  have  not  found  in  one  hundred  of  them  a 
pure  atmosphere.  I  have  often  returned  from  church, 
seriously  doubting  whether  I  had  not  committed  a  sin, 
in  exposing  myself  to  its  poisonous  air.  There  are  in 
our  great  cities,  churches  costing  $50.000,  in  the  con- 
struction of  which  not  fifty  cent?  were  expended  in 
4* 


42  CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION. 

providing  means  for  ventilation.  Ten  thousand  dol- 
lars for  ornament,  but  not  ten  cents  for  pure  air 
Parlors  with  furnace  heat  and  many  gas-burners  (each 
of  which  consumes  as  much  oxygen  as  several  men) 
arc  made  as  close  as  possible,  and  a  party  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen  spend  half  tfie  night  in  them.  In  1861 
I  visited  a  Legislative  Hall.  The  Legislature  was  in 
session.  I  remained  half  an  hour  in  the  most  impure 
air  I  ever  attempted  to  breathe.  If  the  laws,  which 
emanated  from  such  an  atmosphere,  were  good,  it  is  a 
remarkable  instance  of  the  mental  and  moral  rising 
above  a  depraved  physical. 

Our  school  houses  are,  some  of  them,  so  vile  in  this 
respect,  that  I  would  prefer  to  have  my  son  remain  in 
utter  ignorance  of  books,  rather  than  to  breathe  during 
six  hours  of  every  day  such  a  poisonous  atmosphere. 
Theatres  and  Concert  rooms  are  so  foul,  that  only 
reckless  people  continue  to  visit  them.  Twelve  hours 
in  a  railway  car  exhaust  one,  not  because  of  the  sit- 
ting, but  because  of  the  devitalized  air.  While  cross- 
ing the  ocean  in  the  Cunard  "Africa,"  and  again  in  the 
Collins  "Baltic,"  I  was  constantly  amazed  that  men 
who  knew  enough  to  construct  such  noble  ships,  did 
not  know  enough  to  furnish  air  to  the  passengers. 
The  distresses  of  sea-sickness  are  greatly  intensified 
by  the  sickening  atmosphere  which  pervades  the  ship. 
Were  carbonic  acid  black,  what  a  contrast  would  be 


CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION.  43 

presented  between  the  air  of  our  hotels  and  their  elab- 
orate ornamentation. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  every  place  I  have 
mentioned,  might  be  cheaply  and  completely  ventilated. 

A  writer  in  Chambers'  Journal,  in  reviewing  the  first 
volume  of  the  Health  of  Town's  Commission,  says  : 

' '  The  startling  facts  brought  forward  as  to  the  crea- 

o  o 

tion,  we  may  call  it,  of  scrofulous  affections  by  impure 
air,  are  new,  and  present  some  of  the  gloomiest  features 
of  the  volume,  inasmuch  as  they  prove  the  fatal  effects 
of  the  pernicious  influences  complained  of,  in  the  ex- 
istence of  a  deteriorating  population,  diseased  in  them- 
selves, and  bequeathing  disease  to  a  still  more  wretched 
posterity.  Joseph  Toynbee,  Esq.,  one  of  the  wit- 
nesses examined,  appears  to  have  devoted  special  at- 
tention to  this  part  of  the  subject.  On  being  asked  as 
to  his  observation  of  '  the  effect  of  defective  ventila- 
tion,' he  replies — 'The  defective  ventilation  appears  to 
me  to  be  the  principal  cause  of  the  scrofulous  affec- 
tions, which  abound  to  an  enormous  extent  amongst 
our  patients.  When  I  have  had  a  scrofulous  patient 
come  before  me,  I  have  always  been  able  to  trace  this 
as  one  of  the  agents.'  He  cites  the  work  of  a  French 
physician,  M.  Baudeloque,  in  which  it  is  stated  *  that 
the  repeated  respiration  of  the  same  atmosphere  is  the 
cause  of  scrofula ;  that,  if  there  be  entirely  pure  air, 
there  may  be  bad  food,  bad  clothing,  and  want  of  per- 
sonal cleanliness,  but  that  scrofulous  disease  cannot 
exist.'  The  following  facts  are  further  quoted  : — '  The 
development  of  scrofula  is  constantly  preceded  by  the 


44  CAUSES   OP   CONSUMPTION. 

sojourn,  more  or  less  prolonged,  in  air  which  is  not 
sufficiently  freshened.  It  is  impossible  to  deny  that 
hereditary  disposition,  the  lymphatic  temperament,  un- 
cleanliness,  want  of  clothing,  bad  food,  cold  and  hu- 
mid air,  are  of  themselves  circumstances  non-eifective 
for  the  production  of  scrofula." 

"  'When  it  is  seen,  on  the  other  hand,  that  this  dis- 
ease never  attacks  persons  who  pass  then*  lives  in  the 
open  air,  and  manifests  itself  always  when  they  abide 
in  an  air  which  is  unrenewed,  and  this,  whatever  may 
be  the  extent  of  other  causes,  it  appears  evident  that 
the  non-renewal  of  the  ah*  is  a  necessary  condition  in 
the  production  of  scrofula.  Invariably,  it  will  be 
found  on  examination,  that  a  truly  scrofulous  disease 
is  caused  by  a  vitiated  air,  and  it  is  not  always  neces- 
sary that  there  should  have  been  a  prolonged  stay  in 
such  an  atmosphere.  Often  a  few  hours  each  day  is 
sufficient ;  and  it  is  thus  that  persons  may  live  in  the 
most  healthy  country,  pass  the  greater  part  of  the  day 
in  the  open  air,  and  yet  become  scrofulous,  because  of 
sleeping  in  a  confined  place,  where  the  air  has  not  been 
renewed.  This  is  the  case  with  many  shepherds.  It 
is  usual  to  attribute  scrofula,  in  their  case,  to  exposure 
to  storms,  and  atmospheric  changes,  and  to  humidity. 
But  attention  has  not  been  paid  to  the  circumstance 
that  they  pass  the  night  in  a  confined  hut,  which  they 
transport  from  place  to  place,  and  which  protects  them 
from  wet ;  this  hut  has  only  a  small  door,  which  is 
closed  when  they  enter,  and  remains  closed  also  during 
the  day  ;  six  or  eight  hours  passed  daily  in  a  vitiated 
air,  and  which  no  draught  ever  renews,  is  the  true 


CAUSES    OF    CONSUMPTION.  45 

cause  of  their  disease.  I  have  spoken  of  the  bad 
habit  of  sleeping  with  the  head  under  the  clothes,  and 
the  insalubrity  of  the  classes  where  a  number  of  chil- 
dren are  assembled  together.'" 

*  'An  instance  is  adduced  in  corroboration  :  'At  three 
leagues  from  Amiens  lies  the  village  of  Oresmeaux ; 
it  is  situated  in  a  vast  plain,  open  on  every  side, 
and  elevated  more  than  100  feet  above  the  neighboring 
valleys.  About  sixty  years  ago,  most  of  the  houses 
were  built  of  clay,  and  had  no  windows  ;  they  were 
lighted  by  one  or  two  panes  of  glass  fixed  in  the  wall ; 
none  of  the  floors,  sometimes  many  feet  below  the 
level  of  the  street,  were  paved.  The  ceilings  were 
low  ;  the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  were  engaged 
in  weaving.  A  few  holes  in  the  wall,  which  were 
closed  at  will  by  means  of  a  plank,  scarcely  permitted 
the  air  and  light  to  penetrate  into  the  workshop.  Hu- 
midity was  thought  necessary  to  keep  the  threads  fresh. 
Nearly  all  the  inhabitants  were  seized  with  scrofula, 
and  many  families,  continually  ravaged  by  that  mala- 
dy, became  extinct ;  their  last  members,  as  they  write 
me,  died,  rotten  with  scrofula.'" 

"'A  fire  destroyed  nearly  a  third  of  the  village ; 
the  houses  were  re-built  in  a  more  salubrious  manner, 
and  by  degrees  scrofula  became  less  common,  and  dis- 
appeared from  that  part.'  Other  facts  are  brought 
forward,  all  tending  to  prove  the  fatal  effects  of  viti- 
ated air,  and  the  beneficial  results  of  a  constantly  pure 
atmosphere,  not  only  on  the  health,  but  on  the  morals 
of  the  people.  Other  authorities — Dr.  Blacke,  Dr. 
Blakely  Brown,  Dr.  Duncan,  and  Professor  Alison — 


46  CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION. 

fully  confirm  these  statements ;  in  addition  to  which 
we  are  informed  that  '  defective  ventilation  may  be  con- 
sidered one  great  cause  of  all  the  diseases  of  the  joints 
which  we  so  frequently  meet  with,  as  well  as  of  the 
diseases  of  the  eye  and  skin — shingles,  lepra,  and 
porrigo,  or  ringworm.  Besides  the  eye,  the  ear  is  in- 
juriously affected  by  vitiated  air,  which  thus  becomes 
the  cause  of  many  cases  of  deafness.  It  is  a  fact,  that 
at  least  two  times  more  of  the  children  of  the  laboring 
classes  are  affected  by  the  ear-ache  and  deafness,  than 
of  children  of  the  rich  and  better  conditioned  classes, 
less  exposed  to  like  influences." 

"  Every  population  throws  off  insensibly  an  atmos- 
phere of  organic  matter  excessively  rare  in  country  and 
towns,  but  less  rare  in  dense  than  in  open  districts  ; 
and  this  atmosphere  hangs  over  cities  like  a  light  cloud, 
slowly  spreading,  driven  about,  falling,  dispersed  by 
winds,  washed  down  by  showers.  It  is  not  vitalis  ha- 
litus,  except  by  origin,  but  matter  which  has  lived,  is 
dead,  has  left  the  body,  and  is  undergoing,  by  oxyda- 
tion,  decomposition  into  simpler  than  organic  elements. 
The  exhalations  from  sewers,  church  yards,  vaults, 
slaughter-houses,  cess-pools,  commingle  in  the  atmos- 
phere, as  polluted  waters  enter  the  Thames  ;  and  not- 
withstanding the  wonderful  provision  of  nature  for  the 
speedy  oxydation  of  organic  matter  .in  water  and  air, 
accumulate,  and  the  density  of  the  poison  (for  in  the 
transition  of  decay  it  is  a  poison)  is  sufficient  to  im- 
press its  destructive  action  on  the  living,  to  receive 
and  impart  the  processes  of  zymotic  principles,  to  con- 
vert, by  a  subtile,  sickly,  deadly  medium,  the  people 


CAUSES    OF   CONSUMPTION.  47 

agglomerated  in  narrow  streets  and  courts,  down  which 
no  wind  blows,  and  upon  which  the  sun  seldom  shines." 

'•A  small  quantity  of  organic  matter  can  only  escape 
with  the  carbon  and  aqueous  vapor  (37|  ounces 
daily,  according  to  Dalton)  from  the  skin  and  lungs. 
The  presence  of  a  putrid  atmosphere  is  perceived  by 
the  senses  in  parts  of  all  towns  ;  and  Liebig,  by  oper- 
rating  on  large  masses  of  the  atmosphere,  has  obtained 
ammonia,  which  is  a  product  of  the  putrefaction  of 
animal  matter.  The  existence,  therefore,  in  the  at- 
mosphere of  animal  matter,  is  incontestible  ;  and,  as 
it  must  be  most  dense  in  the  densest  districts,  where  it 
is  produced  in  the  greatest  quantities,  and  the  facilities 
for  decomposing  it  in  the  sunshine,  and  sweeping  it 
away  by  currents  of  wind,  are  the  least,  its  effects — 
disease  and  death — will  be  most  evident  in  towns,  and 
in  the  most  crowded  districts  of  towns.  It  is  to  this 
cause  that  the  high  mortality  of  towns  is  to  be  as- 
cribed." 

Consumption  originates  in  the  tubercular  diathesis. 
This  diathesis  is  produced  by  those  agencies  which  de- 
prave the  blood  and  waste  vitality.  Of  these  agencies 
none  is  so  universal  and  potent  as  impure  air.  When  we 
consider  that  besides  mingling  momentarily  with  the 
blood  of  the  entire  system,  it  is  in  direct  and  constant 
contact  with  every  part  of  the  lungs,  we  cannot  fail  to 
deduce,  that  foul  air  must  play  a  most  important  part 
in  that  local  expression  of  the  tubercular  taint  known 
as  pulmonary  consumption. 


48  CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION. 

Dr.  Guy,  in  his  examination  before  the  Commission- 
ers, in  regard  to  consumption,  affirms  :  "This  (defi- 
cient ventilation)  I  believe  to  be  more  fatal  than  all 
other  causes  put  together."  Dr.  Guy  showed  that 
consumption  was  nearly  twice  as  common  among  trades- 
men as  among  the  gentry,  which  he  attributes  to  the 
bad  ventilation  of  their  stores. 

Some  of  my  lady  friends  in  Boston,  who  are  accus- 
tomed to  pure  air  at  home,  greatly  dread  to  "shop," 
because  of  the  bad  atmosphere  found  in  the  stores.  I 
am  not  acquainted  with  three  stores  in  Boston  that  are 
well  ventilated.  It  is  really  touching  to  see  the  poor 
clerks,  of  either  sex,  with  their  pale,  wan  faces,  lan- 
guidly moving  about  in  an  atmosphere  which  is  slowly 
poisoning  them. 

The  distinguished  Dr.  Carpenter  says  :  "Again  the 
due  elaboration  of  the  fibrin  of  the  blood  is  undoubt- 
edly prevented  by  an  habitually  deficient  respiration, 
and  various  diseases  which  result  from  the  imperfect 
performance  of  this  elaboration,  consequently  manifest 
themselves.  The  scrofulous  (consumptive)  diathesis  is 
thus  frequently  connected  with  an  unusually  small  ca- 
pacity of  the  chest,  (or  lack  of  oxygen  in  the  air.)" 

Dr.  Griscom  says:  "Now  it  is  not  disputed,  tJial 
matter,  carried  from  the  digestive  organs,  and  thrown  into 
the  circulation,  cannot  be  perfectly  nutritive  unless  it  be  per- 


CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION.  49 

fcctly  aerated  or  oxygenated.  This  fact  is  fully  estab- 
lished. A  very  small  quantity  of  food,  even  when  it  is 
to  a  certain  extent  unwholesome,  may  possibly  be  as- 
similated, and  with  a  due  supply  of  air  to  ventilate  it 
when  it  arrives  in  the  lungs,  may  become  highly  nutri- 
tive ;  but  the  largest  conceivable  quantity  of  what  is 
called  nutritious  food,  taken  into  the  stomach  and  there 
digested,  can  never  be  elaborated  into  nutritive  blood 
without  a  due  supply  of  air  to  arteriah'ze  it." 

Prof.  Alison,  one  of  the  highest  authorities  on  this 
subject,  remarks:  "It  is  hardly  possible  to  observe 
separately  the  effects  on  the  animal  economy  of  defi- 
ciency of  exercise  and  of  fresh  air,  these  two  causes 
being  applied  together,  and  often  in  connection  with  im- 
perfect nourishment.  But  it  is  perfectly  ascertained,  on 
an  extensive  scale,  in  regard  to  the  inhabitants  of  large 
and  crowded  cities  as  compared  with  the  rural  popula- 
tion of  the  same  climate ;  first,  that  their  mortality  is 
very  much  greater,  especially  in  early  life,  and  the  prob- 
ability of  life  very  much  less ;  and  secondly,  that  of 
this  great  early  mortality  in  large  towns,  a  very  large 
proportion  is  caused  by  scrofulous  disease.  And  from 
these  two  facts,  it  evidently  follows  that  deficiency  of 
fresh  air  and  of  exercise  are  among  the  most  important, 
because  the  most  remediable  of  the  causes  from  which 
the  scrofulous  diathesis  arises." 
5 


50  CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION. 

Dr.  Griscom  concludes  his  excellent  work  on  the 
"Uses  and  Abuses"  of  air,  with  the  following  remarks  : 
"To  those  who  have  the  care  and  instruction  of  the 
rising  generation — the  future  fathers  and  mothers  ot 
men — this  subject  (ventilation)  commends  itself  with 
an  interest  surpassing  that  of  any  other.  Nothing  can 
more  convincingly  establish  the  belief  of  the  existence 
of  something  essentially  and  vitally  wrong  in  the  habits 
and  circumstances  of  civilized  life,  than  the  appalling 
fact,  that  one-fourth  of  all  who  are  born,  die  before 
reaching  the  fifth  year,  and  that  one-half  the  deaths  of 
mankind  occur  under  the  twentieth  year. 

Let  those  who  have  these  things  in  charge,  answer 
to  their  own  consciences  how  they  have  discharged  their 
duty,  in  supplying  to  the  young,  there  sponsibility  of 
whose  lives  they  have  assumed — A  PURE  ATMOSPHERE 

THE  FIRST  REQUISITE  FOR  HEALTHY  BODIES  AND 

SOUND  MINDS." 

CLAUDE  BERNARD'S  EXPERIMENTS.  This  eminent 
man  made  some  interesting  experiments  upon  animals, 
which  illustrate  an  apparent  paradox  often  observed  in 
human  life. 

A  sparrow  placed  in  a  bell-glass  of  given  size,  lived 
three  hours  ;  but  at  the  end  of  the  second  hour,  when 
there  was  still  oxygen  enough  to  sustain  the  bird  an- 
other hour,  if  a  fresh  sparrow  were  introduced  it  ex- 


CAUSES  OP   CONSUMPTION.  51 

pired  immediately.  Or  if  at  the  end  of  the  second 
hour  the  sparrow  was  taken  out  of  the  bell-glass  and 
allowed  to  fly  about  in  pure  air  a  few  moments,  and 
was  then  placed  in  the  bell-glass  again,  where,  but  for 
this  removal  it  would  have  lived  an  hour,  it  was  in- 
stantly killed. 

Some  time  since  I  had  occasion  to  visit  an  establish- 
ment where  one  hundred  and  fifty  girls,  in  a  single  room, 
were  engaged  in  needle-work.  Pale  faced,  with  low  vi- 
tality and  feeble  circulation,  they  seemed  unconscious 
that  they  were  breathing  an  atmosphere  which  at  once 
produced  in  myself  dizziness  and  a  sense  of  suffocation. 
If  I  had  remained  a  week,  like  them,  I  should  have  be- 
come unconscious  of  the  vileness  of  the  atmosphere. 

Lewes  mentions  that  two  French  women,  one  sick 
with  typhoid  fever,  were  in  a  room  heated  by  a  coke 
stove.  The  gas  escaped  from  the  stove.  The  well 
woman  was  suffocated  and  fell  senseless  on  the  floor, 
but  the  sick  one  retained  her  consciousness,  and  by  her 
loud  cries  brought  assistance. 

Lewes,  in  explaining  this  paradox  says,  "vitiated 
air  will  suffice  for  the  respiration  of  a  depressed  or- 
ganism as  it  would  for  that  of  a  cold-blooded  animal. 
In  this  depressed  condition  less  oxygen  is  absorbed,  and 
therefore  less  is  required  in  the  air.  When  we  enter  a 
vitiated  air,  the  breathing  becomes  laborious  ;  the  conse- 
quence is  a  depression  of  all  the  organic  functions,  and 


52  CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION. 

then  the  breathing  becomes  easy  again,  because  we  no 
longer  require  so  much  oxygen,  and  we  no  longer  pro- 
duce so  much  carbonic  acid.  Were  it  not  for  this  ad- 
justment of  the  organism  to  the  surrounding  medium, 
by  a  gradual  depression  of  the  functions,  continued  ex- 
istence in  a  vitiated  air  would  be  impossible.  We  see 
the  vigorous  bird  perish  instantly  in  air  which  would 
sustain  an  enfeebled  bird  for  more  than  an  hour." 

Put  a  bird  and  a  snake  into  an  air-tight  bell-glass. 
After  a  little  time  the  bird  will  fall  from  its  perch,  dead. 
The  air  has  been  so  exhausted  that  it  no  longer  con- 
tains sufficient  oxygen  to  maintain  life  in  the  warm 
blooded  animal,  but  the  cold  blooded  snake  still  lives 
and  continues  to  live,  until  the  oxygen  is  reduced  to  less 
than  three  per  cent. 

A  young  woman,  exuberant  with  life,  comes  from 
the  country  to  visit  her  city  cousins.  She  finds  them 
with  pale  faces,  cold  extremities,  and  general  debility, 
but,  apparently  comfortable  in  a  furnace-heated,  un- 
ventilated  house,  in  which  she  must  almost  gasp  for 
breath. 

I  frequently  observe  in  the  street-cars,  ladies,  with 
contracted  waists  and  feeble  vitality,  breathing  with 
indifference  an  atmosphere  from  which  I  am  compelled 
to  escape  to  the  platform,  even  though  I  must  stand  in 
the  rain. 

In  each  and  all  of  these  cases,  the  unconsciousness 


CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION.  53 

does  not  save  from  mischievous  consequences.  The 
poison  operates,  not  only  in  lowering  the  vital  tone,  but 
in  shortening  the  life,  and  in  the  production  of  numer- 
ous maladies. 

FOUL  AND  DAMP  CELLAES.  The  atmosphere  of 
nearly  every  house  is  contaminated  by  emanations  from 
a  foul  and  damp  cellar.  If  you  breathe  the  air  of  an 
ordinary  cellar,  with  senses  fully  awake,  you  are  con- 
scious it  is  far  from  pure.  This  air  is  constantly  mak- 
ing its  way  into  the  rooms  above.  Without  doubt, 
disease  of  the  lungs,  the  organs  most  exposed  to  at- 
mospheric poisons,  may  often  depend,  to  some  extent, 
upon  this  cellar  atmosphere.  The  emanations  from  de- 
caying potatoes,  cabbages,  turnips  and  other  vegetable 
substances  in  a  cellar,  have  often  produced  grave  fe- 
vers. That  these  poisonous  gases  may  affect  the 
lungs  I  cannot  doubt. 

The  thoughtful  and  earnest  will  ask  at  once,  "What 
can  be  done  to  remove  this  source  of  disease  ? "  I  re- 
ply :  Line  your  cellars  with  cement,  ventilate  and 
drain  them  carefully,  and  keep  them  scrupulously  clean. 
The  frequent  use  of  whitewash  upon  the  walls,  and 
over  head,  will  prove  an  efficient  antiseptic.  The  oc- 
casional use  of  a  solution  of  chloride  of  lime  in  the 
corners  and  out-of-the-way  places  would  prove  an 
important  addition. 
5* 


54  CAUSES  OF   CONSUMPTION. 

But  the  true  policy  for  those  who  reside  in  the  coun- 
try, is,  to  construct  out-door  cellars,  in  which  the 
vegetables  may  be  preserved.  Once  a  week,  what  are 
needed  for  the  house,  may  be  brought  in  and  deposited 
in  a  large  box,  so  constructed  as  to  preserve  its  con- 
tents from  freezing.  As  the  articles  of  food  usually 
kept  in  a  cellar  are,  in  towns  and  cities,  purchased  in 
small  quantities,  the  out-of-door  cellar  is  there  unneces- 
sary. 

The  ground  about  nearly  every  house,  should  be 
thoroughly  underdrained,  to  the  depth  of  three  feet, 
with  round  two  inch  tile,  such  as  are  used  for  agricul- 
tural purposes.  The  drains  should  be  connected,  and 
terminate  in  a  common  outlet  a  few  rods  from  the 
house.  This  should  be  carefully  guarded  by  grating, 
to  prevent  its  being  obstructed.  The  drains  can  be 
connected  with  the  eave-gutters,  so  as  to  receive  all  the 
water  that  falls  on  the  roof,  not  needed  for  the  cistern. 
By  such  means,  the  ground  near  the  house  is  kept  dry ; 
and,  besides  the  greater  healthfulness  secured,  is, much 
improved  for  garden,  lawn,  fruit  yard  and  grapery. 
The  soil  under  the  house,  preparatory  to  building, 
should  be  excavated  as  for  a  cellar,  to  the  depth  of 
one  foot,  and  the  open  space  filled  with  sand  and  char- 
coal. The  part  corresponding  to  the  centre  of  the 
house,  should  be  elevated  one  or  two  feet  above  the 
line  corresponding  to  the  walls,  and  when  the  house  is 


CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION.  55 

erected,  the  space  under  the  walls  should  be  left  open, 
that  the  air  may  circulate  freely  under  the  building.  It 
is  very  easy  with  ornamental  wood  or  iron  work  to  con- 
ceal the  open  space  without  lessening  the  circulation  of 
the  air.  To  keep  the  lower  floor  warm,  it  should  be 
double,  with  an  intervening  space  of  a  foot  in  which  to 
pack  some  nonconductor. 

If  a  cellar  be  suspected  and  is  not  susceptible  of 
purification,  it  might  be  filled  with  sand,  gravel  and 
charcoal. 

Dr.  Bowditch,  in  his  able  address  before  the  Mass. 
Medical  Society,  declared  it  as  his  conviction  that  a 
moist  soil  is  a  most  fruitful  source  of  consumption. 
In  the  light  of  such  authority,  the  importance  I  have 
given  to  the  subject  of  cellars — which  are  almost  inva- 
riably damp — will  not  be  deemed  an  exaggeration. 

Dr.  Bowditch  arrives  at  the  following  conclusions  : 

First,  Consumption  is  not  equally  distributed  over 
New  England. 

Second,  Its  greater  or  less  prevalence  depends  very 
much  upon  the  characteristics  of  the  soil  on,  or  near 
which  the  patients,  affected  with  it,  have  resided. 

Third,  Moisture  of  the  soil  is  the  only  known  char- 
acteristic that,  so  far  as  our  present  investigations  have 
gone,  is  connected  with  the  consumption-breeding  dis- 
tricts. 

Dr.  B.  earnestly  deprecates  the  indifference  of  the 


56  CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION. 

State,  and  the  profession,  to  the  question  of  location  for 
towns.  In  another  place  he  says  : 

' '  The  public  should  correct  its  own  views  upon  the 
whole  subject  of  the  planting  of  cities  and  villages. 
It  should  not  allow  speculators  to  run  the  risk  of  con- 
taminating every  family  that  may  subsequently  colonize 
a  spot  best  fitted,  perhaps,  for  the  promotion  of  con- 
sumption. Now,  the  track  of  a  rail-way,  or  the  wit 
or  reckless  energy  of  the  owner  of  some  swamp,  may 
be  the  sole  reason  for  erecting  a  station  house,  and 
thereby  promoting  the  early  erection  of  dwelling 
houses  near  by,  on  localities  totally  unfit  for  human 
habitation." 

In  arousing  the  profession  to  its  obligations,  he  uses 
the  following  language  : 

"We  may  meet  with  a  patient,  suffering  under  what 
is  sometimes  inaptly  called  the  ' '  pretubercular  condi- 
tion," where  there  is  in  the  system — a  good-for-nothing- 
ness — a  languor,  in  fact,  of  body  and  soul,  perhaps  a 
slight  dyspepsia,  some  emaciation  and  debility — a  little 
cough,  but  without  physical  signs  of  pulmonary  disease. 
If  a  patient  has  been  residing  under  the  circumstances 
named  in  this  address,  as  promotive  of  consumption, 
it  will  be  our  first  duty  to  urge  him  to  leave  the  spot." 

"Still  more  should  a  removal  be  urged  if  any,  even 
the  most  trivial,  of  physical  signs  of  pulmonary  dis- 
ease be  found.  A  short  distance,  even  half  or  quarter 


CAUSES   OF  CONSUMPTION.  57 

of  a  mile,  may  do  much  good ;  but  I  should  prefer  to 
have  such  a  patient  remove  at  once  to  one  of  the  places 
already  known,  or  which  may  hereafter  be  found  to  be 
drier  and  more  favorable  for  him." 

I  take  the  liberty  to  express  the  hope  that  Dr.  Bow- 
ditch  will  bring  to  the  investigation  of  other  causes  of 
Consumption  his  discrimination  and  patience. 

MOISTURE  IN  THE  ATMOSPHERE.  It  is  the  common 
belief  that  a  dry  atmosphere  is  most  favorable  to  the 
consumptive.  Many  medical  authors  have  advanced . 
this  assumption.  It  is,  nevertheless,  an  error.  In  the 
British  Isles,  and  in  France,  outside  the  cities  and  man- 
ufactories, the  mortality  from  pulmonary  diseases  is 
much  less  than  among  the  agricultural  classes  of  this 
country.  And,  on  the  western  shores  of  this  conti- 
nent, consumption  is  comparatively  unknown. 

Our  disadvantage  in  this  comparison  is  attributable, 
in  considerable  part,  to  the  lack  of  humidity  in  our  at- 
mosphere. Without  the  evidence  of  facts,  we  might, 
a  priori,  argue,  that  excessive  dryness  of  the  air  would 
produce  dryness  and  irritability  of  the  air-passages. 
From  time  immemorial,  watery  vapor  has  been  used  as 
a  remedy  in  irritation  and  inflammation  of  the  respira- 
tory organs. 

A  hundred  times  have  my  consumptive  patients  ex- 
pressed surprise  that  the  wet  weather,  in  which  I  have 
insisted  they  should  go  out,  as  usual,  has  not  injured 


58  CAUSES   OF  CONSUMPTION. 

them, — that  they  even  breathe  more  freely  than  on 
pleasant  days.  Of  course,  I  tell  them,  if  the  body  is 
well  protected,  the  more  moist  the  air,  the  more  grate- 
ful to  the  lungs. 

There  is  no  possible  weather  which  can  excuse  the 
consumptive  for  keeping  in-doors.  Give  him  sufficient 
clothing,  protect  his  feet  carefully,  and  he  may  go  out 
freely  in  rain,  sleet,  snow,  and  wind.  Ignorance  of 
this  fact  has  killed  thousands. 

That  point  of  temperature  at  which  the  moisture  of 
the  air  first  becomes  visible  is  known  as  the  dew-point. 
According  to  one  authority,  the  mean  dew-point  of 
England,  from  the  first  of  November  to  the  last  of 
March,  is  about  35  degrees ;  that  of  our  Northern 
States  about  16.  Now  suppose  a  house  in  Eng- 
land is  kept  at  a  temperature  of  70  degrees,  the  drying 
power  would  there  be  represented  by  35.  A  house 
with  the  same  temperature  in  Albany,  for  example, 
would  possess  a  drying  power  of  54.  This  great  con- 
trast in  the  atmosphere  of  the  two  countries  is  striking- 
ly illustrated  by  the  difference  between  the  plump  body 
and  smooth  skin  of  the  Englishman,  and  the  lean,  juice- 
less  body,  and  dry,  cracked  skin  of  the  Yankee.  It  is 
also  shown  by  the  well-known  difference  in  the  influ- 
ence of  house-heat  upon  furniture.  Our  chairs,  and 
sofas,  and  wood-work,  warp  and  shrink,  while  nothing 
of  the  sort  occurs  in  England. 


CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION.  59 

As  we  cannot  increase  the  amount  of  moisture  in  the 
atmosphere  of  our  continent,  we  must  limit  our  prac- 
tical efforts  to  the  air  of  our  houses.  If  we  use  a 
stove,  its  entire  upper  surface  should  be  made  a  reservoir 
for  water ;  ornamental  work,  of  but  little  cost,  may  be 
used  to  conceal  it.  The  furnace  may  be  made  to  send 
up,  with  its  heat,  many  gallons  of  water  daily,  in  the 
form  of  vapor.  In  justice  to  stoves  and  furnaces,  I 
must  say  here,  that,  in  the  facility  to  do  this,  they 
possess  one  advantage  over  open  fire-places. 

By  adding  artificial  moisture  in  this  way,  to  the  air  of 
our  houses,  we  not  only  save  our  furniture  from  drying 
and  shrinking,  but  protect  our  skin,  eyes,  nose,  throat, 
and  lungs  from  undue  dryness,  and  from  the  affections 
to  which  it  would  give  rise.  It  is  found  necessary,  in 
our  cloth  manufactories,  to  maintain  a  moist  atmos- 
phere in  order  to  successful  spinning.  Intelligent  man- 
agers have  assured  me  that  coughs  and  throat  difficul- 
ties are  comparatively  rare  in  the  spinning  department. 

We  must  all  have  observed,  that,  while  the  air  of  a 
hot  kitchen  is  comfortable,  that  of  a  parlor  at  the  same 
heat,  from  an  air-tight  stove,  is  almost  suffocating. 
The  kitchen  has  a  hot  stove,  but  the  steam  of  its  boil- 
ing kettles  moistens  the  air. 

Your  country  aunt,  who  has  lived  over  her  cooking- 
stove   for  years   without  serious  inconvenience,  after 
i 
spending  an  afternoon  in  your  parlor,  heated  by  a  stove 


60  CAUSES   OP   CONSUMPTION. 

or  furnace,  returns  home  "glad  to  get  out  of  that  hot, 
stifling  air."  And  yet  the  thermometer  may  have  in- 
dicated that  the  kitchen  was  ten  degrees  warmer  than 
the  parlor.  The  dry  heat  of  the  parlor  produces  head- 
ache, irritability,  and  perhaps  a  sense  of  stricture  in 
the  chest.  If  we  would  avoid  these,  a  dry  chapped 
skin,  an  irritable  nervous  system,  and  a  dry  hacking 
cough,  we  must  add  the  needed  humidity  by  artificial 
means.  Almost  every  writer  on  consumption  regards 
humidity  in  the  atmosphere  as  one  of  the  principal  causes 
of  this  disease.  If  the  moisture  is  in  such  excess  that 
it  becomes  visible  in  the  form  of  fog,  it  may  act  pred- 
udicially  upon  the  respiratory  apparatus ;  but,  so  long 
as  its  relations  with  the  temperature  are  such  that  it  re- 
mains in  an  invisible  form,  it  must  ever  tend  to  pre- 
serve in  the  lungs  a  condition  farthest  from  irritability. 
Again,  humidity  in  its  influence  upon  the  respiratory 
apparatus  is  determined  in  considerable  part  by  the 
clothing  of  the  body.  If  insufficiently  clad,  and  ex- 
posed to  an  excessive  humidity,  the  general  vitality 
may  be  so  depressed,  and  the  blood  so  driven  from  tKe 
surface,  that  disease  of  the  lungs  will  result.  But  if 
the  body  be  well  guarded,  moisture  in  the  air,  except 
when  in  great  excess,  and  in  very  low  temperatures, 
will  ever  serve  to  preserve  in  the  respiratory  apparatus, 
freedom  from  that  dryness  and  irritability  which  consti- 
tute a  prominent  feature  in  most  diseases  of  these  or- 


CAUSES    OF    CONSUMPTION.  61 

gans.  A  striking  illustration  of  its  benefits  is  found  in 
the  comfort  which  phthisical  persons  derive  from  that 
condition  of  the  atmosphere  which  accompanies  a  rain- 
storm in  the  summer,  and  again,  by  the  relief  which 
such  patients  experience  in  visiting  the  western  shores 
of  our  continent,  or  an  island  in  the  ocean,  where  the 
air  is  loaded  with  humidity. 

FURNACES  AND  STOVES.  Since  the  introduction  ol 
furnaces  and  stoves,  diseases  of  the  respiratory  appa- 
ratus have  greatly  multiplied.  The  heat  from  these, 
dries  the  life  juices  out  of  the  throat  and  lungs.  When 
I  am  asked  to  see  a  Consumptive,  and  find  my  patient 
in  such  an  atmosphere,  I  begin  by  saying,  "no  treat- 
ment will  save  you  if  you  continue  to  poison  your  lungs 
in  this  air." 

If  in  the  shutter  of  a  dark  room  you  make  a  small 
aperture,  you  will  observe  in  the  jet  of  light,  that  the 
air  of  the  best  ventilated  room  is  full  of  floating  par- 
ticles. In  their  ordinary  condition  they  do  not  seriously 
injure  the  respiratory  apparatus  ;  but  it  has  been  shown 
by  reliable  observers,  that  when  these  motes  are  ex- 
posed to  contact  with  a  heated  stove  or  furnace,  they 
are  carbonized  and  become  poisonous  to  throat,  lungs 
and  blood.  If  this  be  true,  it  is  a  new  and  good  ob- 
jection to  stoves  and  furnaces.  The  common  idea  that 
the  air  itself  may  be  burned  by  a  hot  stove,  is  not  Avell 
founded. 


62  CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION. 

I  do  not  say  it  is  impossible  to  ventilate  a  room 
warmed  by  furnaces  or  stoves  ;  but,  with  the  present 
ignorance  on  the  subject  of  ventilation,  and  insensibility 
to  atmospheric  influences,  not  one  house  in  a  hundred 
thus  heated,  will  be  well  ventilated.  If  the  machinery 
by  which  the  needed  change  of  air  may  be  secured,  is 
left  to  the  control  of  the  occupants  of  the  house,  bad 
ventilation  will  be  the  rule. 

OPEN  FIRES  vs.  STOVES  AND  FURNACES.  An  open 
fire  is  number  one  among  house  blessings.  If  possible, 
it  should  be"  a  wood  fire  with  a  large  fire  place.  Such 
a  fire  is  a  great  luxury.  It  fills  the  family  circle  with 
satisfaction  and  sociability.  To  keep  up  the  draft,  the 
entire  air  of  the  room  is  constantly  changed.  Even  if 
the  room  be  small,  and  the  company  large,  the  excre- 
tions of  the  lungs  and  skin  cannot  so  accumulate  as  to 
make  the  room  smell  close.  Strange  that  people  will 
not  have  this  delightful  blessing  in  their  houses  at  any 
cost.  Let  them,  if  need  be,  go  without  silks,  broad- 
cloths, a  piano,  and  finery  of  every  kind,  and  have  this 
excellent  purifier  and  comfort  in  their  homes.  Who 
would  not  go  miles  to  visit  an  old-fashioned  log  house 
with  its  great  roaring  fire  ?  In  whose  childish  reminis- 
cences is  not  that  cracking,  rushing  fire  the  most 
beautiful  of  memories?  Why  not  have  it  all  back 
again  ?  If  a  small  part  of  the  money  -which  we  spend 


CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION.  63 

in  foolish,  mischievous  fashions,  were  given  to  the  re-in- 
troduction of  this  good-old-fashioned  blessing,  we 
should  all  be  healthier  and  happier. 

Next  to  the  wood  fire,  the  open  grate,  with  coal,  is 
best ;  and,  if  the  draught  be  good,  it  is  a  good  ventilator. 

In  an  institution  for  the  treatment  of  weak  chests, 
which  we  shall  soon  open  in  Boston,  we  shall  make 
open  wood  fires  play  an  important  part. 


FIRES  IN  BED  ROOMS.  Most  people  think  that 
sleeping  in  cold  rooms  is  essential  to  health.  This  is  a 
mistake.  An  open  fire  greatly  improves  the  atmosphere 
of  a  bed  room.  By  it,  the  air  of  the  room  is  constantly 
changed.  With  it,  the  window  will  be  kept  open. 
With  a  fire,  less  bed  clothing  is  needed — an  important 
advantage, — for  a  large  number  of  blankets  not  only 
interferes  with  circulation  and  respiration,  but  prevents 
the  escape  of  the  gases  which  the  skin  is  constantly 
emitting.  Except  there  be  wind,  ventilation  of  any 
room  depends  upon  a  difference  in  temperature  between 
the  air  inside  and  that  outside.  If  the  thermometer 
inside  indicate  a  temperature  10  degrees  below  the 
freezing  point,  and  outside  the  same,  there  will  be  no 
ventilation.  All  motion  in  the  air  originates  in  a  dif- 
ference of  temperature  between  different  points.  If 
we  would  secure  the  constant  introduction  of  air  from 
the  great  ocean  outside,  into  our  bedrooms,  we  must 


64  CAUSES   OP   CONSUMPTION. 

raise  the  temperature  within  considerably  above  that 
without. 

NIGHT  AIR.  Consumptives,  and  all  invalids,  and 
indeed  persons  in  health,  are  cautioned  to  avoid  the 
night  air.  Do  those  who  offer  this  advice  forget  that 
there  is  no  other  air  at  night,  but  "night  air"?  Cer- 
tainly we  cannot  breathe  day  air  during  the  night.  Do 
they  mean  that  we  should  shut  ourselves  up  in  air-tight 
rooms,  and  breathe  over  and  over  again,  through  half 
the  twenty-four  hours,  the  atmosphere  we  have  already 
poisoned?  We  have  only  the  choice  between  night  air 
pure,  and  night  air  poisoned  with  the  exhalations  from 
our  skins  and  lungs,  perhaps  from  lungs  already  dis- 
eased. 

Many  persons  indulge  a  very  silly  dread  of  a  draught. 
It  is  only  by  motion  in  the  atmosphere  that  our  lungs 
obtain  the  purest  air.  If  at  night  the  air  move  briskly 
directly  over  your  bed,  your  lungs  will  receive  precious 
supplies.  If  you  cannot  endure  this  direct  draught, 
you  must  deny  yourself  a  great  luxury.  I  once 
thought  that  a  draught  at  night  directly  over  my  head, 
was  a  thing  to  be  avoided.  Now  I  seek  it  as  one  of 
the  real  blessings  of  life.  My  wife,  who  inherited  a 
consumptive  taint,  was  ever  guarding  against  night  air. 
Now  she  sleeps  with  two  open  windows  at  one  end  of 
the  bed,  and  an  open  door  at  the  other.  Neither  of 
us  have  had  a  cold  for  several  years.  Every  one  must 


CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION.  65 

exercise  his  own  judgment  and  prudence.  I  should  be 
sorry  were  my  words  to  lead  any  one  into  an  injurious 
exposure.  But  among  the  many  hundreds — I  might 
say  thousands, — whom  I  have  advised  to  sleep  with 
open  windows,  I  have  never  known  a  single  person  to 
be  seriously  injured,  even  temporarily  ;  and  I  may  add, 
that  almost  without  exception,  so  far  as  I  have  known, 
they  would  not  return  to  their  former  habit  of  sleeping 
in  unventilated  rooms.  At  first  you  may  contract  a 
cold,  but  if  you  bathe  freely  in  cold  water,  and  employ 
vigorous  friction  upon  the  parts  exposed  while  in  bed, 
even  this  may  be  avoided.  But  after  a  few  weeks  ex- 
perience it  will  be  quite  unnecessary  for  the  physiolo- 
gist to  lecture  you  on  the  subject.  You  will  yourself 
take  to  exhorting  your  friends  upon  the  importance  of 
well  ventilated  bed  rooms.  One  of  the  compensations 
of  our  great  war  will  be  found  in  the  conviction  among 
a  million  returned  soldiers  that  night  air  is  not  a  poison, 
and  that  draughts  are  less  dangerous  than  minie  balls. 
Of  course  I  am  not  unaware  that  what  I  have  said 
on  sleeping  in  a  draught  will  meet  with  very  general 
reprobation,  but  it  is  not  the  Only  case  in  which  false 
education  and  predudice  have  undertaken  to  ignore  a 
great  natural.  I  can  adduce  the  experience  of  thou- 
sands in  favor  of  a  free  exposure  to  night  air  and 
winds,  and  after  a  wide  observation  I  have  never  met 
one  person  who  has  tried  such  exposure  for  one  month 


66  CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION. 

and  spoke  against  it.     A  writer  pertinently  speaks  on 
this  point  after  the  following  fashion  : 

< '  Man  acts  strangely.     Although  a  current  of  fresh 
air  is  the  very  life  of  his  lungs,  he  seems  indefatigable 
in  the  exercise  of  his  inventive  powers  to  deprive  him- 
self of  this   heavenly   blessing.      Thus,    he   carefully 
closes  his  bed-chamber  against  its  entrance,  and  prefers 
that  his  lungs  should  receive  the  mixed  effluvia  from  his 
cellar  and  larder,   and   from  a  patent  little   modern 
aquarius,  in  lieu  of  it.     Why  should  man  be  so  terri- 
fied at  the  admission  of  night  air  into  any  of  his  apart- 
ments ?     It  is  Nature's  ever-flowing  current,  and  never 
carries  the  destroying  angel  with  it.      See  how  soundly 
the  delicate  little  wren  and  tender  robin  sleep  under  its 
full  and  immediate  influence  ;  and  how  fresh,  and  vigor- 
ous, and  joyous,  they  rise  amid  the  surrounding  dew 
drops  of  the  morning.     Although  exposed  all  night  long 
to  the  heavens,  their  lungs  are  never  out  of  order ;  and 
this  we  know  by  the  daily  repetition  of  their  song.  Look 
at  the  new-born  hare,  without  any  nest  to  go  to.     It 
lives  and  thrives  and  becomes  strong  and  playful  under 
the  unmitigated  inclemency  of  the  falling,  dews  of  night. 
I  have  a  turkey  full  eight  years  old  that  has  not  passerl 
a  single  night  in  shelter.     He  roosts  in  a  cherry  tree, 
and  is  in  primest  health  the  year  through.     Three  fowls, 
preferring  his  to  the  warm  perches  in  the  hen-house, 
took  up  their  quarters  with  him  early  in  October,  and 


CAUSES   OF   CONSUMPTION.  67 

have  never  gone  to  any  other  roosting-place.  The  cow 
and  the  horse  sleep  safely  on  the  ground,  and  the  roe 
lies  down  to  rest  on  the  dewy  mountain  top.  I  myself 
can  sleep  all  night  long,  bareheaded,  under  the  full 
moon's  watery  beams,  without  any  fear  of  danger,  and 
pass  the  day  in  wet  shoes,  without  catching  cold. — 
Coughs  and  colds  are  generally  caught  in  the  transition 
from  an  over-heated  room  to  a  cold  apartment ;  but 
there  would  be  no  danger  in  this  movement,  if  ventila- 
tion were  properly  attended  to, — a  precaution  little 
thought  of  now-a-days." 

Dr.  James  Blake  advises  the  consumptive  to  join  with 
several  friends,  procure  horses  and  \vagons,  and  set  off 
upon  a  long  journey,  sleeping  in  the  open  air,  no  mat- 
ter what  the  weather.  He  seems  to  think  this  the  only 
way  in  which  it  is  possible  to  induce  the  consumptive  to 
sleep  in  the  fresh  air.  Doctor  Jackson  gives  the  case 
of  a  consumptive  young  man  (he  does  not  state  the  con- 
dition of  his  lungs)  who  was  cured  by  sleeping  in  the 
open  air  on  a  hay-stack.  This  advice  and  experience 
do  not  quite  harmonize  with  the  common  terror  of  night 
air. 

But  while  I  believe  that  breathing  the  pure  out-door 
air  all  night  is  an  important  curative  means  in  this  dis- 
ease, I  do  not  believe  that  sleeping  in  the  open  fields  in 
a  stormy  night  is  the  lest  means  for  securing  pure  night 
air,  in  the  case  of  a  feeble  woman ;  on  the  contrary,  I 


68  CAUSES   OP   CONSUMPTION. 

think  it  might  be  more  pleasantly,  and  quite  as^effectu- 
ally  secured  in  a  comfortable  house,  with  open  windows 
and  an  open  fire. 

No  doubt  the  lives  of  thousands  would  be  saved  by 
destroying  then*  houses,  and  compelling  them  to  sleep 
in  the  open  air ;  not  because  houses  are  inevitable  evils, 
but  because  they  are  so  badly  used.  Windows  are 
barred  and  closed,  as  if  to  keep  out  assassins ;  draughts 
defended  against,  as  if  they  were  bomb-shells  ;  and  the 
furnace-heat  still  more  corrupts  the  air,  which  has  done 
duty  already — to  how  many  lungs,  for  how  many  hours  ? 

Let  the  consumptive  thank  God  for  the  blessing  of  a 
house,  but  let  him  use  it  wisely.  How  my  heart  has 
ached,  to  see  the  consumptive  patient  put  away  in  a  bed, 
behind  curtains,  in  an  unventilated  room,  the  doors  and 
windows  carefully  closed,  to  shut  out  the  very  food  for 
which  the  lungs  and  system  were  famishing ! 

I  do  not  wonder  that  Blake,  Jackson,  and  many  oth- 
ers, have  advisd  an  out-door  life  of  the  wildest  and  most 
exposed  sort  to  invalids  of  this  class ;  but  I  do  wonder 
that  they  have  not  equally  insisted  upon  abundance  of 
air  for  them,  as  pure  as  that  of  the  fields  and  mountains, 
in  their  own  homes,  and  in  the  midst  of  friends  and 
comforts. 

CONSUMPTION  IN  ANIMALS.  Tubercles  are  often 
found  in  the  lungs  of  nearly  all  classes  of  animals.  And 


CAUSES   OF    CONSUMPTION.  69 

as  bearing  upon  the  Causes  of  Consumption,  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  tubercular  disease  is  developed 
in  some  animals,  lead  to  important  suggestions.  Those 
animals  kept  in  our  menageries  are  liable  to  tubercular 
disease  of  the  lungs.  Great  numbers  of  monkies  are 
brought  from  the  south  and  kept  in  cages,  where  they 
soon  die  of  consumption.  This  is,  indeed,  almost  the 
only  cause  of  mortality  among  these  poor  creatures. — 
Their  lives,  physiologically  considered,  are  almost  iden- 
tical with  those  of  idle  human  beings,  of  the  easy  class. 
In  both  cases  there  is  an  absence  of  sunshine,  pure  air, 
and  invigorating  employment.  The  results  are  debil- 
ity, emaciation,  tubercular  disease,  and  death.  If  the 
inmates  of  human  cages,  or  of  monkey  cages,  were 
given  sunshine,  pure  air,  and  exercise  in  abundance,  tu- 
bercular disease  would  almost  entirely  disappear. 
What  would  be  thought  of  the  practice  of  administer- 
ing drugs  to  these  sick  and  dying  monkies,  while  they 
were  kept  in  the  poisoned  atmosphere  of  their  cages, 
without  exercise  ?  Just  what  is  thought  by  those  whc 
can  think,  of  the  same  practice  upon  the  young  lady, 
who  in  addition  to  the  unfavorable  surroundings  of  the 
monkey,  has  her  vital  organs  compressed  with  a  whale- 
bone corset,  until  the  amount  of  even  furnace-heated 
atmosphere,  which  she  breathes,  is  reduced  to  the  min- 
imum. 

What  I  have  said  of  the  effects  of  menagerie  life 


70  CAUSES   OP   CONSUMPTION. 

upon  monkies,  is  applicable  to  all  animals  of  the  mena- 
gerie, with  the  exception  of  those  which  are  permitted 
to  walk  from  place  to  place,  thereby  obtaining  the 
needed  sunshine,  air  and  exercise. 

Thousands  of  human  beings  in  our  American  cities, 
who  must  die  of  Consumption,  might  live  to  old  age,  if 
they  could  be  induced  to  abandon  their  drugs,  over 
heated  rooms,  improper  dress,  and  listless  inactivity, 
and  expose  themselves  freely  to  nature's  great  life-giv- 
ing influences. 

The  observations  already  made  upon  tuberculous  dis- 
ease and  its  causes,  among  animals  kept  in  menageries, 
are  quite  applicable,  in  every  particular,  to  cows  kept 
in  dark,  unventilated  stables,  and  to  other  animals  sim- 
ilarly treated.  The  majority  of  horse-stables  would 
soon  engender  tubercular  disease,  if  the  animals  were 
not  taken  out  to  work.  Indeed,  so  much  do  our  hor- 
ses and  cattle  suffer  for  want  of  pure  air,  when  kept 
in  stables,  that  it  is  the  testimony  of  intelligent  farmers, 
that  those  animals  which  "run  to  a  stack"  are  more 
healthy  than  those  in  the  stable.  This,  it  will  be  re- 
membered, is  what  Dr.  Blake  says  of  consumptives. 
He  has  little  hope  of  those  who  stay  in  houses,  but  if 
they  will  live  and  sleep  out-doors  they  may  recover. 

The  horse  standing  nearest  the  door,  has  the  health- 
iest place  in  the  stable.  The  man  sleeping  nearest  the 
window,  has  the  healthiest  place  in  the  house. 


CLIMATE.  71 

CLIMATE. 

The  influence  of  climate  in  the  production  of  tu- 
berculosis was  formerly  much  exaggerated.  Removal 
to  a  warm  latitude,  so  generally  prescribed  some 
years  ago,  is  now  rarely  advised.  Although  the  bland 
atmosphere,  and  out-of-door  life  of  the  tropics,  may 
often  check  the  progress  of  the  malady,  yet  the  consti- 
tution is  generally  so  enervated,  that  the  return  to  home 
and  friends,  often  involves  not  only  a  return  of  the  mal- 
ady, but  its  more  rapid  progress.  At  present,  a  winter 
at  Lake  Superior,  or  other  region  where  the  cold  is  in- 
tense and  uniform,  is  the  popular  prescription.  I  do 
not  doubt  the  value  of  the  expedient  in  many  cases.—- 
But  the  consumptive  who  can  afford  a  winter  neither  in 
the  Mediterranean  nor  at  the  frigid  North,  may  comfort 
himself  that  the  value  of  such  trips  has  been  greatly 
overrated.  Advice  to  the  phthisical  to  spend  a  season 
a  thousand  miles  from  home,  is,  to  a  large  majority  of 
them,  not  unlike  that  of  the  whimsical  London  doctor 
to  the  rag-picker  he  found  coughing  in  the  street : — 
"That's  a  bad  cough,  a  bad  cough,  you  have.  I  ad- 
vise you  to  make  a  journey  on  the  Continent ;  and,  in 
order  to  secure  all  the  advantages,  you  had  better 
travel  in  your  own  carriage."  Happily  for  those  with 
short  purses,  health  in  this,  as  in  most  other  cases,  is 
more  easily  found  at  home. 

I  do  not  believe  that  the  prejudice  against  our  New 


72  CLIMATE. 

England  climate,  entertained  by  consumptives,  is  well 
founded.  The  slight  percentage  of  difference  against 
us,  as  compared  with  the  people  of  other  parts  of  the 
country,  in  the  number  of  deaths  from  consumption,  is 
to  be  traced,  I  believe,  not  so  much  to  our  climate  as 
to  our  manufactories.  New  England  contains  nearly 
all  the  great  factories,  labor  in  which  is  so  prejudicial 
to  health,  as  well  as  a  greater  number  of  furnaces,  air- 
tight stoves,  and  close  houses. 

I  do  not  believe  that  the  sudden  changes  of  our  New 
England  climate  are  disastrous  to  the  consumptive  who 
is  well  protected.  While  it  is  true  that  our  climate 

provokes  a  greater  number  of  colds  than  that  of  Flor- 

^ 

ida,  it  is  not  less  true  that  our  atmosphere  is  more  in- 
vigorating. 

"The  Climate  of  the  United  States,"  by  Dr.  Samuel 
Forry,  of  the  United  States  Army,  one  of  the  best 
works  of  the  kind  ever  published,  gives  a  great  num- 
ber of  facts,  interesting  in  this  connection.  His  statis- 
tics are  gathered  exclusively  from  the  army.  The  men 
of  the  army  are,  in  great  part,  of  the  same  age,  from 
the  same  rank  in  life,  of  the  same  habits,  and  have  the 
same  clothing,  food,  and  labor,  and  when  sick  the  same 
treatment.  The  influence  of  climate  upon  human 
health  may,  therefore,  be  ascertained  with  more  accu- 
racy from  careful  observations  among  this  class  of  men, 
than  from  any  other  source.  In  comparing  the  popu- 


CLIMATE.  73 

lations  of  New  York  and  New  Orleans,  for  instance,  it 
is  almost  impossible  to  make  accurate  allowance  for  the 
manifold  difference  in  habits,  diet,  occupation,  etc. 

Dr.  Forry  shows  conclusively,  that,  while  colds  and 
influenzas  are  more  common  in  the  northern  branches 
of  the  regular  army,  as  552  to  271,  consumption  is 
more  common  in  the  southern,  in  the  proportion  of 
10£  to  7f .  In  the  southern  divisions,  there  are  708 
cases  of  fever  of  various  sorts,  to  192  in  the  northern. 
"We  may  safely  infer,"  he  says,  "  that  whatever  tends 
to  impair  the  constitution,  as  fevers,  tends  to  develop 
consumption  in  every  class  which  is  predisposed,  and  in 
all  climates  and  countries."  Dr.  Forry's  tables  present 
some  curious  facts.  One  which  will  most  impress  the 
general  reader  is,  that  rheumatism  is  more  common  at 
Key  West  than  on  the  coast  of  New  England.  But 
it  will  not  surprise  the  reflecting,  that  a  change  of  5 
degrees  at  Key  West  is  felt  as  much  as  one  of  20  de- 
grees at  Boston.  These  slight  changes,  however,  do 
not  equally  purify  the  atmosphere  and  invigorate  the 
body. 

The  climate  of  New  England  is  the  principal  source 
of  the  vigor  of  her  people.  If  our  atmosphere  were 
changed  to  that  of  Florida,  the  glory  of  New  England 
would  depart.  The  sudden  and  violent  changes  of  our 
weather  evoke  that  elasticity  and  force  which  distinguish 
the  native  Yankee. 
7 


74  FOOD. 

FOOD. 

I  believe  that  no  other  cause,  beside  impure  air,  is  so 
active  in  the  production  of  diseases  of  the  throat  and 
lungs,  as  dyspepsia. 

As  mentioned  in  another  place,  several  eminent  au- 
thors claim  that  every  case  of  scrofulous  diathesis  has 
scrofulous  dyspepsia.  The  usual  indications  of  the  tu- 
bercular taint,  found  in  the  eye,  complexion,  flesh,  &c., 
of  scrofulous  children,  may  all  be  absent,  but  the  pe- 
culiar dyspepsia  is  never  absent.  It  shows  itself  in  the 
color  of  the  tongue  and  throat,  hi  the  character  of  the 
appetite,  in  the  condition  of  the  bowels,  and  in  other 
characteristic  ways. 

The  most  eminent  of  authors  on  the  subject  of  con- 
sumption, declares:  "Of  all  diseases  I  consider  dys- 
pepsia the  most  fertile  source  of  cachexia  of  all  kinds, 
— for  this  plain  reason,  that  a  healthy  condition  of  the 
digestive  organs,  and  a  due  performance  of  their  func- 
tions, are  essential  to  the  assimilation  of  food,  and  con- 
sequently to  the  supply  of  healthy  nutriment." 

Sir  James  Clarke  thought  that  dyspepsia  in  the  pa- 
rent, often  produced  consumptive  taint  in  the  child. 

I  have  read  many  authors,  French,  German,  Eng- 
lish and  American,  on  Consumption,  and  I  observe, 
that  in  discussing  its  causes,  each  and  every  one  names 
indigestion  as  a  fruitful  source. 


FOOD.  75 

WHAT  ARE  THE  CAUSES  OF  INDIGESTION?  In 
undertaking  to  answer  this  question,  I  ought  to  say, 
that  whatever  reduces  the  general  vitality,  may  com- 
promise the  digestive  apparatus.  However,  I  shall 
consider  only  two  or  three  of  the  more  special  and 
serious  errors  which  produce  this  malady. 

WE  EAT  TOO  MUCH.  In  all  countries,  a  majority 
of  the  population  consumes  too  much  food.  But,  in 
America,  where  it  is  easy  for  all  classes  to  obtain  large 
quantities  of  rich  food,  the  evil  is  well  nigh  universal. 
I  am  confident  that  ninety-nine  persons  hi  every  hun- 
dred eat  too  much. 

GENERAL  REPUGNANCE  TO  THE  SUBJECT.  Most 
persons  are  as  irritable  on  the  subject  of  excessive  eat- 
ing, as  the  community  was,  thirty  years  ago,  on 
the  subject  of  excessive  drinking.  We  hear  it  said, — 
" Whatsoever  is  set  before  you,  eat,  asking  no  ques- 
tions for  conscience  sake."  This  is  quoted  with  the 
same  satisfaction  as, — "Use  a  little  wine  for  thy  stom- 
ach's sake."  An  animal  man,  with  a  cast-iron  stom- 
ach, or,  perhaps  quite  as  often  a  dyspeptic,  with  a  suf- 
fering stomach  and  ruined  health,  will  say,  "don't 
keep  thinking  about  your  food ;  it  will  give  you  the 
dyspepsia.  A  man  should  eat  without  knowing  what 
he  is  eating,  or  without  being  able  to  remember  what 
he  has  eaten." 


76  FOOD. 

If,  at  a  fashionable  table,  one  questions  the  digesti- 
bility of  any  article  of  food,  it  exposes  him  to  ridicule. 
Though  this  is  perhaps  only  one  exhibition  of  the  gen- 
errd  distaste  for  any  reform  which  may  happen  to  cross 
our  appetites. 

WE  MUST  THINK  OF  OUE  FOOD.  The  most  thought- 
ful attention  is  bestowed  upon  the  food  of  our  animals. 
We  have  books  on  the  subject,  which  these  very  men 
who  scorn  to  consider  human  diet,  study  with  great  in- 
terest. The  fuel  with  which  we  fire  up  our  engines 
and  house  furnaces,  is  all  well  studied.  Why  should 
we  not  studiously  consider  the  food  from  which  the  bod- 
ies and  brains  of  ourselves  and  our  children  are  elim- 
inated ?  The  propriety  and  necessity  of  such  thought- 
ful attention  to  our  diet  does  not  admit  of  serious  dis- 
cussion. It  is  only  the  man  who  hates  reform  and  pro- 
gress, who  can  raise  the  question. 

EFFECTS  OF  EATING  TOO  MUCH.  Prof.  Hitchcock, 
under  this  head  says  : — 

'  *  But  men  do  not  perceive  the  bad  effects  of  over 
feeding,  because  in  general  they  are  ignorant  of  their 
character,  and  confine  their  attention  to  the  more  im- 
mediate effects  instead  of  looking  at  those  which  are 
remote.  They  generally  suppose,  that  if  the  stomach, 
or  any  internal  organ,  be  oppressed,  or  disordered, 
pain  will  be  produced  in  the  organ  itself;  whereas,  the 


FOOD.  77 

uneasiness  and  pain  are  most  commonly  in  some  other 
part,  not  unfrequently  a  remote  part  of  the  body. 
And  oftentimes,  food  which  ultimately  does  the  man  a 
great  deal  of  injury,  gives  to  the  stomach  a  transient 
relief,  just  as  piling  a  large  quantity  of  wood  upon  a 
fire,  seems  for  a  time  almost  to  extinguish  it.  Thus, 
the  dyspeptic  is  oppressed  with  a  sense  of  gnawing,  and 
faintness  at  the  stomach,  previous  to  his  meals.  The 
immediate  consequence  of  eating  to  satiety,  is,  to  re- 
move this  uncomfortable  sensation,  and  to  produce  a 
glow  in  the  system,  which,  at  first,  is  not  disagreeable. 
Hence  such  a  man  concludes  that  his  hearty  meal  has 
done  him  good.  True,  he  feels  an  indisposition  to  bod- 
ily or  mental  effort,  and  perhaps  drowsiness  and  sleep 
come  over  him  for  two  or  three  hours ;  but  this  he 
considers  as  no  bad  omen ;  indeed,  his  nap  refreshes 
him  for  the  time,  and  although  the  thought  may  enter 
his  mind,  that  perhaps  he  has  eaten  rather  too  much, 
should  headache  or  heartburn  come  on,  yet  by  a  cup 
of  tea,  or  a  little  exercise,  he  gets  rid  of  these,  and 
fancies  that  when  he  has  forced  the  food  from  his  stom- 
ach, no  farther  bad  effects  will  result  from  a  little  ex- 
cess in  quantity.  Should  he  have  disturbed  sleep  and 
restlessness,  the  nightmare,  or  unpleasant  dreams,  the 
following  night,  he  scarcely  thinks  of  referring  the 
mischief  to  the  dietetic  excesses  of  the  preceding  day. 
His  appetite  is  good  the  next  day,  and  he  takes  the 
7* 


78  FOOD. 

same  course,  viz,  to  eat  as  much  as  his  stomach  craves  ; 
and  although  overloaded  nature  raises  those  signals  of 
distress  which  I  have  mentioned,  he  is  ignorant  of  their 
meaning,  until  after  a  few  weeks,  or  months,  when 
gloom  and  jealousy  enshroud  the  mind,  as  forerunners 
of  the  storm  that  is  about  to  burst. 

"A  man  never  thinks  of  imputing  these  feelings  to 
his  excess  in  eating,  although,  in  fact,  they  are  the  di- 
rect consequence ;  and,  indeed,  I  am  more  and  more 
convinced,  that  most  of  the  depression  of  spirits,  which 
accompanies  nervous  complaints,  might  be  prevented 
by  rigid  abstemiousness  in  diet. 

"Another  remote  consequence  of  eating  too  much,  is 
uneasiness  and  irritability  of  temper,  especially  in  the 
morning  ;  which  most  men  never  regard  as  having  such 
an  origin.  The  greatest  gluttons  we  ever  beheld,  (ex- 
cept one)  says  a  medical  reviewer,  were  meagre  men, 
whose  tempers  became  so  crabbed,  that  even  their  chil- 
dren have  wished  them  dead.  That  these  are  real 
dyspeptics  is  proved  by  their  cure  being  practicable,  if 
they  are  subjected  to  the  same  regimen  which  dyspep- 
tics require." 

Dr.  Johnson  mentions  a  curious  case  illustrative  of 
this  effect  of  excessive  eating  upon  the  mind.  He  had 
a  hypochondriacal  patient,  who  "was  every  second  day 
affected  with  such  an  exasperation  of  his  melancholy 
forebodings,  that  he  did  nothing  but  walk  about  his 


FOOD.  79 

room,  wringing  his  hands,  and  assuring  his  servants 
that  the  hand  of  death  was  upon  him,  and  that  he  could 
not  possibly  survive  more  than  a  few  hours.  Under 
these  gloomy  impressions  he  would  refuse  food  and 
drink,  and,  in  fact,  give  himself  up  for  lost.  The  suc- 
ceeding sun,  however,  would  find  him  quite  an  altered 
man.  The  cloud  had  broken  away ;  hope  was  re- 
kindled ;  and  the  appetite  for  food  and  drink  was  in- 
dulged ad  libitum.  Next  morning  all  would  be  despair, 
and  nothing  but  death  could  be  thought  of.  So  he  went 
on,  as  regular  as  light  and  darkness.  But  if  on  the 
good  day,  he  could  be  kept  on  a  very  small  portion  of 
food,  and  the  bottle  unopened,  the  next  would  be  good 
also.  This,  however,  could  seldom  be  done,  for  as 
soon  as  he  felt  a  respite  from  his  miseries,  procured  by 
one  day's  abstinence,  he  returned  to  his  indulgences, 
and  again  irritated  his  stomach  and  bowels,  and  through 
them  reproduced  the  blue  devils  in  the  mind." 

Most  of  the.  ancient  philosophers  might  be  named  as 
patterns  of  health,  temperance,  and  long  life.  Pytha- 
goras, in  particular,  restricted  himself  to  vegetable  food 
altogether ;  his  dinner  being  bread,  honey,  and  water  : 
and  he  lived  upwards  of  eighty  years.  His  followers 
adopted  the  same  diet,  and  with  results  equally  strik- 
ing. It  is  well  known,  also,  that  the  early  Christians 
were  remarkable  for  temperance,  and  for  longevity  too, 
when  not  removed  by  persecution.  Matthew,  for  ex- 


80  FOOD. 

ample,  according  to  Clement,  lived  upon  vegetable  diet. 
"The  eastern  Christians,  who  retired  from  persecution 
into  the  deserts  of  Egypt  and  Arabia,  allowed  them- 
selves but  twelve  ounces  of  bread  per  day,  as  their 
only  solid  food,  and  water  alone  for  drink,  yet  they 
lived  long  and  happy."  St.  Anthony  lived  105  years ; 
James  the  Hermit,  104 ;  St.  Jerome,  100 ;  Simon 
Stylites,  109  ;  Epiphanius,  115  ;  and  Romauldus  and 
Arsenius  each  120. 

Galen,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  ancient 
physicians,  lived  140  years,  and  composed  between  700 
and  800  essays  on  medical  and  philosophical  subjects  ; 
and  he  was  always,  after  the  age  of  28,  extremely 
sparing  in  the  quantity  of  his  food.  The  Cardinal  de 
Sails,  Archbishop  of  Seville,  who  lived  110  years,  was 
invariably  sparing  in  his  diet.  One  Lawrence,  an 
Englishman,  by  temperance  and  labor,  lived  140  years  ; 
and  one  Kentigern,  called  St.  Mongah,  who  never 
tasted  spirit  or  wine,  and  slept  on  the  ground,  and  la- 
bored hard,  died  at  the  age  of  185.  Henry  Jenkins, 
of  Yorkshire,  who  died  at  the  age  of  169,  was  a  poor 
fisherman,  as  long  as  he  could  follow  his  pursuit,  and 
ultimately  he  became  a  beggar,  living  uniformly  on*  the 
coarsest  and  most  sparing  diet.  Old  Parre,  already 
famous,  who  died  at  the  age  of  153,  was  a  farmer 
of  extremely  abstemious  habits,  his  diet  being  solely 
milk,  cheese,  coarse  bread,  small  beer,  and  whey.  At 


FOOD.  81 

the  age  of  120,  he  married  a  second  wife,  by  whom  he 
had  a  child.  But  being  taken  to  court  by  the  Earl  of 
Arundel,  as  a  great  curiosity,  in  his  152d  year,  he  very 
soon  died,  as  the  physician  decidedly  testified  after  dis- 
section, in  consequence  of  a  change  from  a  parsimo- 
nious to  a  plentiful  diet.  Henry  Francisco,  another  fa- 
mous case,  lived  to  about  140  in  this  country,  and  was, 
except  for  a  certain  period,  when  he  became  attached 
to  ardent  spirit,  ''remarkably  abstemious,  eating  but 
little,  and  abstaining  almost  entirely  from  animal  food" 
his  favorite  articles  being  tea;  bread  and  butter  and 
baked  apples.  A  Mr.  Ephraim  Pratt  of  Shutesbury, 
Massachusetts,  who  died  at  the  age  of  117  years,  lived 
very  much  upon  milk,  and  that  in  small  quantity  ;  and 
his  son,  Michael  Pratt,  attained  to  the  age  of  103 
years,  by  similar  means.  Indeed,  great  longevity  has 
occurred  in  no  instance  with  which  I  am  acquainted, 
where  the  individual  was  not  a  pattern  of  abstem- 
iousness in  diet.  Great  eaters  never  live  long.  A  vo- 
racious appetite  is  a  sign  of  disease,  or  of  a  strong 
tendency  to  disease ;  and  not  a  sign  of  health,  as  is 
generally  supposed.  Ill  health  as  infallibly  follows  the 
indulgence  of  such  an  appetite,  as  any  other  effect  its 
legitimate  cause. 

Dr.  Cheyne  was  a  celebrated  English  physician,  who 
nourished  more  than  a  century  ago.  In  the  early  part 
of  his  life,  he  was  a  voluptuary ;  and  before  he  attained 


82  FOOD. 

to  middle  age,  he  was  so  corpulent,  that  it  was  neces- 
sary  to  open  the  whole  side  of  his  carriage,  that  he 
might  enter ;  and  he  saw  death  to  be  inevitable,  with- 
out a  change  of  his  course.  He  immediately  aban- 
doned all  ardent  spirit,  wine,  and  fermented  liquors, 
and  confined  himself  wholly  to  vegetables,  milk  and 
water.  This  course,  with  active  exercise,  reduced  him 
from  the  enormous  weight  of  448  pounds,  to  140  ;  and 
restored  his  health  and  the  vigor  of  his  mind.  After 
a  few  years,  he  ventured  to  change  his  abstemious  diet, 
for  one  more  rich  and  stimulating.  But  the  effect  was 
a  recurrence  of  his  former  corpulence  and  ill  health. 
A  return  to  milk,  water  and  vegetables  restored  him 
again ;  and  he  continued  in  uninterrupted  health  to  the 
age  of  72.  His  numerous  works  are  full  of  most 
earnest  exhortations  to  temperance  in  all  respects.  As 
to  eating,  his  aphorism  was — "A  constant  endeavor 
after  the  lightest  and  least  of  meat  and  drink  a  man 
can  be  tolerably  easy  under,  is  the  shortest  and  most 
^infallible  means  to  preserve  life,  health,  and  serenity." 
He  recommends  the  following  quantity  of  food  and 
drink  as  sufficient  for  a  healthy  man,  not  following  a 
laborious  employment,  viz :  eight  ounces  of  meat, 
twelve  of  bread,  or  other  vegetable  food,  and  about  a 
pint  of  wine,  or  other  generous  liquor,  per  day.  In- 
valids, those  of  sedentary  employments,  and  students, 
he  says,  must  reduce  this  quantity,  if  they  wish 


FOOD.  83 

to  preserve  their  health  and  freedom  of  spirits  long. 
Lewis  Cornaro  was  a  Venetian  nobleman,  who,  by 
gluttony  and  dissipation,  became  so  reduced,  that  at  the 
age  of  35,  he  was  given  over  by  his  physicians.  By 
their  advice,  however,  as  a  last  resort,  he  reduced  his  diet 
to  twelve  ounces  of  solid  food,  and  fourteen  ounces  of 
wine,  per  day.  The  consequence  was,  not  merely  a 
restoration  to  health,  but  an  almost  uninterrupted  con- 
tinuance of  it,  with  a  most  delightful  serenity  of  mind, 
to  one  hundred  years  of  age,  as  he  has  beautifully  des- 
cribed it  in  a  little  treatise  on  the  subject,  abridged 
from  the  writings  of  Cornaro,  by  Mr.  Daggett,  for- 
merly principal  of  the  Foreign  Mission  School  at  Corn- 
wall in  Connecticut.  This  gentleman  also  testifies, 
that  at  the  age  of  58,  he  had  found  less  than  12  ounces 
per  diem,  and  none  of  it  animal  food,  abundantly  suf- 
ficient for  himself.  Cornaro  was  prevailed  upon  at  a 
certain  time,  to  increase  the  quantity  of  his  solid  food 
only  two  ounces,  and  his  liquid  food  about  as  much, 
and  the  consequence  was,  a  serious  fit  of  sickness.  As 
he  grew  quite  old,  he  reduced  his  food  so  much,  that  it 
is  said  he  lived  several  days  upon  the  yolk  of  a  single 

egg- 

The  opinion  of  Mr.  Abernethy,  one  of  the  ablest 
English  physicians  of  the  past,  concerning  Cornaro's 
system  of  dieting,  is  thus  expressed  :  ' '  When  patients 
apply  to  me,  I  offend  them  greatly  by  telling  them 


84  FOOD 

they  have  their  health  in  their  own  keeping.  If  a  man 
were  to  do  as  Cornaro  did,  he  would  be  rewarded  for 
it  by  a  long  and  happy  life.  The  principal  beauty  of 
Cornaro's  life  was  the  happy  state  of  mind  in  which  his 
continued  temperance  preserved  him.  Now  what  I 
propose  as  a  diet,  is  Cornaro's  diet ;  and  it  is  no  fanci- 
ful system.  The  diet  should  always  be  of  a  moderate 
quantity ;  it  should  not  be  wholly  vegetable  or  animal, 
but  it  ought  to  be  of  a  nutritive  kind." 

During  his  composition  of  the  celebrated  treatise  on 
optics,  Sir  Isaac  Newton  confined  himself  entirely  to 
bread  with  a  little  sack  and  water. 

President  Edwards  says  in  his  diary;  "I  think  I 
find  myself  much  more  sprightly  and  healthy  both  in 
body  and  mind,  for  my  self  denial  in  eating,  drinking 
and  sleeping." — Again,  July  7—1722."  By  a  sparing- 
ness  in  diet  and  eating  (as  much  as  may  be)  what  ia 
light  and  easy  of  digestion,  I  shall  doubtless  be  able  to 
think  clearer  and  gain  time,  first  by  lengthening  out 
my  life.  Secondly,  I  shall  need  less  time  for  digestion 
after  meals.  Thirdly,  I  shall  be  able  to  study  closer, 
without  wrong  to  my  health.  Fourthly,  I  shall  need 
less  sleep.  Fifthly,  I  shall  seldom  be  troubled  with 
the  head-ache." 

Another  able  medical  writer,  in  his  recent  work  en- 
titled, "  Sure  Methods  of  improving  Health  and  prolong- 
ing Life"  &c.,  has  drawn  out  these  rules  in  a  still 


FOOD.  85 

more  particular  manner.  He  gives  the  following  gen- 
eral rule  as  to  the  quantity  of  food,  which  he  judges 
will  be  found  best  for  the  preservation  of  health,  and 
the  prolongation  of  life,  in  the  weakly,  the  sedentary, 
the  invalid,  and  the  aged. 

-o  ,  r.  .  (  Bread  or  biscuit,  and  butter,  Four  ounces, 
.breakiast.  <  m  0  .  JM  '•  v>  i,  T>W 

I  Tea,  &c.  in  dilution  Eight  Do. 

f  Bread  or  other  vegetables,  Two  Do. 

jy          J  Meat,  Seven  Do. 

er    |  Light  wine  or  Malt  liquor,  Six  Do. 

t  Water,  Two  Do. 

rp       C  Bread  or  biscuit,  and  butter,    Three  Do. 
U  I  Tea  or  other  liquid,  Eight  Do. 

In  all,  during  the  day,  sixteen  ounces  of  solid  food, 
and  twenty-four  ounces  of  liquid.  Dyspeptics,  whose 
digestive  powers  are  greatly  weakened,  he  says,  must 
reduce  this  quantity ;  and  Dr.  Johnson  says,  that  such 
' '  will  often  derive  more  nutriment  and  strength  from 
four  ounces  of  gruel  every  six  hours,  than  from  half  a 
pound  of  animal  food  and  a  pint  of  wine." 

In  respect  to  those  who  are  in  perfect  health,  and 
take  much  exercise,  or  labor  hard,  the  author  of  the 
"  Sure  Methods,  says,"  that  their  "solid  food  may  be 
increased  to  twenty  ounces,  and  their  liquid  to  forty  ; 
but  hardly  beyond  that  with  safety." 

INTERESTING    HISTORICAL    FACTS.       Abernethj 
gives  the  case  of  an  English  Quaker,  whom  he  advised 
8 


86  FOOD. 

to  eat  but  twelve  ounces  a  day.  The  Quaker  after- 
wards wrote  him : 

"By  following  thine  advice,  I  have  got  rid  of  what 
thou  didst  consider  a  very  formidable  local  malady ; 
and  upon  thy  allowance  of  food,  I  have  regained  my 
flesh,  and  feel  as  competent  to  exertion  as  formerly, 
though  I  am  not  indeed  so  fat  as  I  used  to  be.  I  own 
to  thee,  that  as  I  got  better,  I  thought  thy  allowance 
rather  scanty,  and  being  strongly  tempted  to  take  more 
food,  I  did  so ;  but  I  continued  in  the  practice  of 
weighing  myself,  and  found  that  I  regularly  lost 
weight  upon  an  increased  quantity  of  food,  wherefore, 
I  returned  to  that  which  was  prescribed  to  me." 

Pythagoras,  who  never  ate  to  fulness,  lived  a  hun- 
dred years.  Zeno  lived  to  the  age  of  98  years,  and 
was  never  sick.  To  his  great  temperance  and  modera- 
tion, he  owed  his  continued  flow  of  health.  John 
Wesley  was  remarkably  abstemious  in  his  habits,  and 
yet  his  life  was  long  and  laborious.  Dr.  Rush,  though 
feeble  in  body,  and  with  a  tendency  to  consumption, 
performed  great  labors,  and  lived  to  a  good  age.  He 
was  very  temperate  in  eating  and  drinking.  The  testi- 
mony of  Dr.  Franklin  is  strongly  in  favor  of  a  simple 
and  abstemious  diet.  He  says,  "  When  about  sixteen 
years  of  age,  I  happened  to  meet  with  a  book  written 
by  one  Try  on,  recommending  vegetable  diet.  I  deter- 
mined to  go  into  it.  My  brother,  being  yet  unmarried, 


FOOD.  87 

did  not  keep  house,  but  boarded  himself  and  his  ap- 
prentices in  another  family.  My  refusing  to  eat  flesh 
occasioned  inconvenience,  and  I  was  frequently  chid  for 
my  singularity.  I  made  myself  acquainted  with  Try- 
on's  manner  of  preparing  some  of  his  dishes,  such  as 
boiling  potatoes,  rice,  making  puddings,  and  then  pro- 
posed to  my  brother  that  if  he  would  give  me  weekly 
one-half  the  money  he  paid  for  my  board,  I  would 
board  myself.  He  agreed  to  this,  and  I  found  I  could 
save  one-half  of  what  he  paid  me.  This  was  a  fund 
for  buying  books.  But  I  had  another  advantage.  My 
brother  and  the  rest,  going  for  their  dinner,  left  me 
alone,  and,  quickly  despatching  my  light  dinner,  which 
was  often  no  more  than  a  biscuit  or  slice  of  bread,  a  hand- 
ful of  raisins,  and  a  glass  of  water,  I  had  the  rest  of 
the  time  for  study,  in  which  I  made  greater  progress 
from  the  clearness  of  head  and  quicker  apprehension, 
which  attends  temperance  in  eating  and  drinking." 

STRIKING  BUT  COMMON  CASES.     I  remember  in  my 

childhood  a  clergyman,  Rev.   Mr.   S ,  neighbor 

of  my  father,  was  distinguished  for  monstrous  eating. 
I  cannot  say  that  the  story  is  true,  but  some  of  his 
parishioners  declared,  that  during  an  evening  sitting, 
he  had  eaten  more  than  a  peck  of  apples.  He  was 
very  fond  of  a  particular  kind  of  short-cake  which  my 
mother  made.  He  used  to  declare  that  sister  L.  could 


88  FOOD. 

beat  all  the  women  in  the  church  making  short-cake. 
I  believe  I  am  not  guilty  of  exaggeration  when  I  say, 
he  used  to  eat,  at  our  table,  of  this  kind  of  bread, 
enough  for  five  laboring  men.  Now  this  good  Elder 
was  a  famous  temperance  man,  and  used  to  deliver 
himself  eloquently  on  "temperance  in  all  things." 
Possessing  a  wonderful  constitution,  and  taking  much 
out-door  exercise,  he  did  not  give  way  at  once.  When 
I  became  a  physician,  and  was  visiting  the  old  home- 
stead, he  had  a  consultation  with  the  "young  doctor" 
about  his  ears.  All  his  senses  had  become  dull,  with 
the  exception  of  the  appetite  for  short-cake.  He  had 
become  very  deaf.  I  remember  how  his  eyes  flashed, 
when  I  told  him,  the  difficulty  was  an  eruption  of 
short-cake  at  his  ears.  This  was  a  good  man,  and  if 
he  had  eaten  one-half,  or  one-third  as  much,  would 
have  lived  ten  years  longer,  and  added  indefinitely  to 
his  enjoyment  and  usefulness. 

But  the  evil  did  not  stop  here.  He  had  three  sons. 
These  were  much  like  him  in  person,  and  terribly  like 
him  in  appetite.  Some  people  do  not  believe  in  the 
transmission  of  special  appetites,  but  I  am  sure,  in  this 
case,  the  passion  for  short-cake  came  from  the  father 
to  these  boys  with  the  directness  and  force  of  an  air- 
line rail-way.  They  have  ever  proved  equal  to  a  full 
plate  of  this  favorite  bread ;  and  as  to  apples,  their 
capacity,  is  even  to  this  hour,  cherished  among  their 


FOOD.  89 

friends  as  an  open  problem.  These  boys  inherited  from 
their  father  remarkable  vigor  of  constitution.  In  size, 
strength  and  agility,  I  am  not  acquainted  with  a  family 
so  well  endowed  by  nature.  But,  before  forty  years 
of  age,  each  had  become  grey,  stooping,  and  in  great 
part  toothless,  and  in  other  ways  prematurely  old. 
Each  in  his  turn  will  perish  a  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of 
short-cake. 

THE  GOOD  DEACON.  A  good  deacon,  in  the  same 
church,  vied  with  the  elder  as  a  large  eater.  As  I  re- 
call it,  I  can  scarcely  believe  their  monstrous  eating 
was  the  subject  of  pleasant  discussion  and  raillery 
among  their  friends.  I  have  heard  wagers  offered, 
that  one  could  beat  the  other.  The  deacon,  before  he 
was  forty-five,  although  naturally  of  the  finest  consti- 
tution, had  become  an  old  man,  without  teeth,  with  bad 
breath,  with  health  so  feeble  and  unreliable  that  he  was 
by  common  consent,  placed  on  the  invalid  list.  Only 
one  power  of  his  system  maintained  itself,  and  that  was 
his  appetite  and  capacity  for  enormous  eating ;  though, 
at  length,  this  became  fitful  and  uncertain.  Before 
his  death,  nothing  but  an  invitation  out,  where,  sur- 
rounded by  the  various  provocatives  of  a  first-class 
farmer's  table,  could  he  rally  himself  and  grapple  with 
the  foe,  as  was  his  wont,  in  younger  life.  He  had  a 
son,  to  whom  he  transmitted  a  morbid  appetite  of  un- 
8* 


90  FOOD. 

controllable  power.  While  still  young,  and  surrounded 
by  the  best  moral  and  religious  influences,  he  became  a 
victim  to  gluttony,  whiskey  and  tobacco. 

OUR  THANKSGIVING  DINNERS.  What  an  institu- 
tion is  our  New  England  Thanksgiving  I  The  loved 
ones  are  gathered  from  far  and  near,  to  sit  once  more 
around  the  old  family  board,  and,  with  father  and 
mother,  now  becoming  old  and  tremulous,  to  recall  the 
joyous  days  of  the  past,  and  to  renew  their  mutual 
love.  This  is  all  very  beautiful,  and  constitutes  hi  its 
social  and  moral  influence,  one  of  the  most  precious  in- 
stitutions of  New  England  life.  But,  what  a  sad  con- 
trast between  the  beautiful  sentiments  which  call  them 
together  and  the  shameful  gluttony  which  follows. — 
Not  only  does  every  one  become  stupid  by  the  gorman- 
dizing which  the  good  mother  is  not  willing  should  rest 
with  one  course,  but  which  must  be  carried  on  through 
two,  three,  or  four  courses ;  but  the  doctors  will  tell 
you  that  from  this  thanksgiving  dinner  comes  a  rich 
harvest  to  them. 

If  the  people,  who  stuff  themselves  on  thanksgiving 
day  were,  instead,  to  get  drunk,  the  evil,  in  almost 
every  case,  would  be  less.  A  drunken  spree  makes 
one  very  foolish  and  bestial  for  a  day,  but  you  never 
hear  a  man  say  a  fortnight  afterward,  "I  have  not 
seen  a  well  day  since  that  spree."  And  yet,  I  have 


FOOD.  91 

heard  hundreds  say,  "I  have  not  seen  a  well  day  since 
thanksgiving." 

Why  will  you  treat  your  children  thus  when  they 
come  back  to  the  old  home  nest?  Do  you  say,  "they 
are  not  obliged  to  eat  what  I  place  before  them." 
But  did  you  ever  know  them,  as  children,  as  youth,  or 
later  in  life,  to  resist  such  temptations?  Do  you  not 
know,  when  they  have  eaten  a  large  plate  of  roast  tur- 
key, potato,  and  bread,  that  they  have  eaten  enough? 
That  if  they  eat  nothing  more,  not  only  would  their 
heads  be  clearer,  and  hearts  warmer  for  the  social  ac- 
tivities which  are  to  follow,  but  their  health,  on  return- 
ing to  their  homes,  would  be  much  better?  As  you 
love  them,  Avhy  will  yGa  place  before  them  temptations 
which  you  know  they  will  not  resist?  Wisely  and 
firmly  you  have  excluded  from  your  table  and  side- 
board, intoxicating  drinks.  In  the  same  moral  strength, 
why  can  you  not  exclude  that  host  of  appetizing  com- 
pounds which  constitute  such  a  ruinous  temptation? 

THE  DYSPEPTIC  WILL  DO  ANYTHING  BUT  EAT  MOD- 
ERATELY. The  dyspeptic  will  visit  Europe  to  consult 
some  eminent  doctor ;  he  will  swallow  fabulous  quan- 
tities of  disgusting  mineral  waters;  he  will  submit  to 
emetics  and  cathartics  ;  and  in  brief,  will  do  anything, 
however  disagreeable,  painful,  or  expensive — every- 
thing but  one — eating  moderate  quantities  of  plain  food. 


92  FOOD. 

What  would  you  think  of  a  drunkard  who  seeks  a 
medicine  for  the  redness  of  his  nose?  And  what 
would  you  think  of  the  doctor  who  advises  some 
wonderful  pill,  or  a  season  at  Saratoga  for  the  inebri- 
ate's inflamed  eyes  ?  And  yet  I  assure  you,  it  is  just 
what  the  physiologist  thinks  of  the  same  expedients  for 
the  hundred  and  one  ailments  which  grow  out  of  ex- 
cessive eating  !  Nothing  can  be  more  absurd  than  the 
conduct  of  the  dyspeptic,  who  runs  after  doctors,  swal- 
lows patent  medicines,  and  makes  long  journeys,  to 
cure,  what  three  times  a  day  he  is  producing  and  re- 
producing. I  like  the  anecdote  told  of  Abernethy  : — 
A  distinguished  Duke  waited  upon  that  blunt  but  exj 
cellent  physician,  with  reference  to  a  disease  of  his 
eyelids.  He  said,  "Doctor,  I  am  afraid  there  is  ser- 
ious mischief  here,"  touching  his  eyes.  The  doctor, 
who  had  a  great  horror  of  talking  patients,  said,  "My 
Lord,  if  you  will  keep  silent  and  let  me  do  the  talk- 
ing, I  will  tell  you  what  your  trouble  is.  Your  disease 
is  not  where  you  think  it  is.  The  real  malady  is 
here,"  touching  his  Lordship's  immense  stomach. 
"Your  kitchen  is  foul,  and  of  course,  the  poisonous 
effluvia  will  ascend  to  the  garret.  In  your  case,  it 
shows  itself  in  the  eyes.  Now  if  you  will  clear  the 
kitchen,  the  garret  will  require  no  special  purification. 
You  must  do,  my  Lord,  as  the  great  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington has  done  in  several  of  his  famous  sieges,  cut 


FOOD.  93 

off  the  supplies,  and  the  enemy  will  leave  the  citadel." 

ILLUSTRATIVE  CASE.  Let  me  give  you  an  ex- 
ample. Not  long  since,  a  young  man  called  upon  me, 
with  numberless  aches  and  distresses.  He  was  dizzy 
and  half  sick  in  the  morning ;  sleepy  after  dinner ;  and 
restless  at  night,  with  terrible  dreams.  He  had  consti- 
pation and  pain  in  the  back ;  sour  eructations  and  sense 
of  Leat  at  the  pit  of  the  stomach.  But  worse  than  all 
this,  he  had  desperate  hypochondria.  Without  refer- 
ring to  my  record  of  cases,  I  cannot  give  full  particu- 
lars of  his  case,  but,  I  remember  he  told  me,  that  he 
had  been  doctoring  for  a  year,  had  taken  several  boxes 
of  pills,  quantities  of  tonics,  and  had  recently  been 
trying  a  famous  dyspepsia  remedy.  He  had  now 
given  up  all  hope,  and  only  wished  he  was  dead.  I 
asked  him  about  his  habits.  He  replied,  "Oh,  they 
are  the  very  best.  I  have  read  several  works  on 
health,  and  have  given  the  most  careful  attention  to 
health  rules.  I  bathe,  and  walk  several  miles  every 
day."  I  asked  him  about  his  diet.  "That  is  all 
right."  "What  do  you  eat  for  breakfast?"  "A  bit 
of  steak,  just  a  few  fried  potatoes,  a  biscuit,  a  very 
few  warm  cakes,  and  a  single  cup  of  coifee ;  cold  wa- 
ter makes  me  sick."  "Do  you  drink  the  coffee 
strong?"  "Yes,  just  comfortable,  I  don't  like  slops." 
"Well  sir,  what  for  dinner?"  "I  take  a  plate  of 


94  FOOD. 

soup,  a  trifle  of  fish,  just  a  little  roast-beef,  a  very  few 
vegetables,  and  a  bit  of  pie  or  pudding."  "Well, 
what  for  supper?"  "A  very  little  cold  roast,  a  bis- 
cuit or  two,  and  a  cup  of  tea."  "Do  you  take  the 
tea  strong?"  "Yes,  I  don't  like  slops."  "Well,  is 
this  all  you  eat?"  "Sometimes  when  I  feel  a  little 
faint,  I  lunch  on  a  few  crackers,  and  a  glass  of  ale. 
I  am  very  temperate  and  careful  in  all  my  habits.  I 
know  with  my  stomach  I  must  be  so."  I  said  to  him  : 
"My  dear  fellow,  if  you  will  stop  your  drugs,  and 
stuffing,  and  eat  only  what  I  advise,  you  will  get  well." 
"But,  doctor,  will  you  starve  me  on  bran-bread?" 
"Not  a  bit  of  it;  I  will  prescribe  food  for  you  that 
will  make  you  stronger,  by  half,  in  a  month.  Your 
diet  must  be  the  following :  A  piece  of  unleavened 
cracked- wheat  bread,  about  as  large  as  your  hand, 
with  a  baked  apple,  for  breakfast ;  twice  as  much 
bread  of  the  same  sort,  for  dinner,  with  a  saucer  of 
cracked-wheat  and  milk,  and  two  or  three  baked 
apples.  Eat  nothing  for  supper,  and  go  to  bed  at 
eight  o'clock.  In  a  month,  you  will  be  somewhat  thin-: 
ner  than  now,  but  you  will  be  cured  of  your  horrors, 
of  your  acidity  of  stomach,  of  constipation,  and  feel 
yourself  a  new  man."  ,  "But,  doctor,  how  am  I  to  sit 
at  the  table,  and  see  all  the  good  things  before  me,  and 
eat  nothing  but  bread  and  apples?"  "It  is  a  little 
hard  at  first,  but  you  will  soon  really  enjoy  the  self- 


FOOD.  95 

denial,  and  pity  those  who  are  stuffing  and  killing 
themselves."  "But,"  asked  my  patient,  "don't  you 
think  there  is  some  medicine  I  could  take,  and  get  well 
without  resorting  to  such  terrible  starvation  as  this  ? " 
*'  You  are  quite  mistaken.  It  is  not  starvation.  The 
amount  of  food  I  have  advised,  is  as  much  and  as  rich 
as  your  stomach  can  digest  at  present ;  and  you  must 
remember  that  it  is  not  the  quantity  of  food  you  eat, 
that  determines  the  strength,  it  is  the  amount  well  di- 
gested. One  ounce  well  digested,  will  give  you  more 
strength  than  ten  ounces,  which  undergo  the  morbid 
changes  of  the  dyspeptic  stomach." 

There  is  hardly  a  day  that  I  do  not  have  a  similar 
conversation  with  some  poor  gormandizer.  As  I  have 
said,  these  poor  creatures  take  bitters,  pills,  and  doses, 
resort  to  the  gymnasium,  make  journeys  to  the  coun- 
try, are  willing  to  do  and  suffer  anything  you  can 
name,  except  one — the  one  simple  and  only  thing  that 
will  cure  them,  viz  :  eating  plain  food  in  moderate  quan- 
tities. 

HOW  SHALL  WE  DETERMINE  THE   QUANTITY  OF  OUR 

FOOD?  Dr.  Philip  and  Dr.  Paris  recommend,  that 
' '  the  dyspeptic  should  carefully  attend  to  the  first  feel- 
ing of  satiety.  There  is  a  moment  when  the  relish 
given  by  the  appetite  ceases  ;  a  single  mouthful  taken 
after  this,  oppresses  a  weak  stomach.  If  he  eats 


96  FOOD. 

slowly,  and  carefully  attends  to  this  filing,  he  will 
never  overload  the  stomach." 

Many  have  urged  this  as  a  safe  rule,  but  I  have  no 
confidence  in  it.  Surrounded  by  social  friends,  with 
the  morbid  appetite  spurring  on,  the  dyspeptic  (and  by 
the  term  "dyspeptic"  I  mean  all  whose  stomachs  are 
not  healthy)  will  eat  twice  as  much  as  he  should,  with- 
out observing  that  nice  shade  of  change  in  the  relish  of 
food  to  which  Drs.  Philip  and  Paris  refer.  When 
these  learned  gentlemen  say  that  '  *  there  is  a  moment 
when  the  relish  given  by  the  appetite  ceases,"  they  do 
not  mean  to  say  that  after  that  moment,  food  is  not 
relished.  If  they  do,  they  must  use  the  word  "relish" 
hi  some  peculiar  and  restricted  sense.  The  dyspeptic 
does  enjoy  every  mouthful  he  eats.  If  dining  at  a 
table  where  he  has  to  pay  for  every  article  separately, 
he  enjoys  the  eating  to  his  full,  so  intensely,  that 
although  his  purse  may  be  a  small  one,  he  will  call  for 
another  and  still  another  dish,  until  he  is  surfeited. 
Without  dyspepsia,  I  can  myself,  eat  twice  as  much 
food  as  I  should,  and  every  mouthful  with  relish. 

The  language  used  by  these  gentlemen,  in  their  rule 
for  determining  the  quantity  of  food,  may  have  been  to 
them  snmificant,  but  I  confess  I  do  not  understand 

O  * 

what  they  mean. 

A  score  of  eminent  physiologists  have  advised  weigh- 
ing the  food.  This  is  a  good  rule,  but  scarcely  prac- 


FOOD.  97 

ticable.  If  a  man  were  living  by  himself,  and  experi- 
menting upon  his  stomach,  I  would  advise  him,  per- 
haps, to  resort  to  this  expedient.  Or  if  he  were  a  great 
dyspeptic,  and  found  his  appetite  uncontrollable,  it 
might  prove  a  good  plan.  But  he  would  find  it  incon- 
venient to  take  his  seat  at  the  table,  or  to  visit  the 
kitchen  for  the  purpose,  previous  to  the  meal ;  either 
expedient  would  expose  him  too  much  to  observation 
and  criticism.  In  brief,  this  rule  is  inconvenient  and 
impracticable. 

PROF.  HITCHCOCK'S  RULE.  Prof.  Hitchcock,  who 
has  giveri  us  an  excellent  work  on  diet,  from  which  I 
have  d,rawn  many  important  suggestions,  gives  us  an- 
other rule,  which  he  thinks  is  all-sufficient.  It  is,  to 
eat  of  only  one  dish ;  or,  as  he  explains  it  afterward, 
only  "one  course."  For  example,  if  we  eat  roast-beef, 
with  potatoes  and  bread,  we  may  eat  as  much  as  the 
appetite  craves  of  this,  but  should  eat  no  more ;  we 
should  not  eat  of  another  course,  or  of  the  dessert. 
This  is  a  good  rule,  and  would  be  a  great  improvement 
on  the  present  plan  of  placing  before  the  glutton  a 
series  of  successive  courses,  such  as  are  furnished  by 
our  hotels. 

DR.  JOHNSON'S  RULE.  The  celebrated  Dr.  John- 
son gives  us  his  opinion  on  the  subject  under  consider- 
ation, in  the  following  words  : — 


98  FOOD. 

"Whenever  his  drink  Induces  sensible  excitement  in 
the  system,"  says  he,  "or  his  food  is  followed  by  an 
inaptitude  for  mental  or  corporeal  exertion,  he  has 
transgressed  the  rules  of  health,  and  is  laying  the 
foundation  for  disease.  Any  discomfort  of  body,  any 
irritability  or  despondency  of  mind,  succeeding  food 
and  drink,  at  the  distance  of  an  hour,  a  day,  or  even 
two  and  three  days,  may  be  regarded,  (other  evident 
causes  being  absent,)  as  a  presumptive  proof  that  the 
quantity  has  been  too  much,  or  the  quality  injurious. — • 
If  a  few  hours  after  his  dinner  he  feel  a  sense  of  dis- 
tention  in  the  stomach  and  bowels,  or  any  of  the  symp- 
toms of  indigestion  which  have  been  pointed  out ;  if  he 
feel  a  languor  of  body,  or  a  cloudiness  of  the  mind ;  if 
he  have  a  restless  night ;  if  he  experience  a  depression 
of  spirits,  or  irritability  of  temper  next  morning,  his  re- 
past [dinner]  has  been  too  much,  or  improper  in  kind, 
and  he  must  reduce  and  simplify  till  he  come  to  that 
quantity  and  quality  of  food  and  drink  for  dinner  which 
will  produce  little  or  no  alteration  in  his  feelings, 
whether  of  exhilaration  immediately  after  dinner,  or  of 
discomfort  some  hours  after  his  meal.  This  is  the  cri- 
terion by  which  the  patient  must  judge  for  himself." 

To  the  same  effect  in  the  testimony  of  Cheyne.  "If 
any  man,"  says  he,  "has  eat  or  drank  so  much  as  ren- 
ders him  unfit  for  the  duties  and  studies  of  his  profes- 


FOOD.  99 

Bion,  (after  an  hour's  sitting  quiet  to  cany  on  the  di- 
gestion,) he  has  over  done." 

As  a  rule  for  the  guidance  of  dyspeptics,  in  fixing 
the  quantity  of  food  they  should  eat,  all  this  seems  to 
me  ineffectual.  What  dyspeptic  does  not  know,  after 
he  has  eaten  too  much,  that  he  has  committed  an  error? 
I  once  knew  a  clergyman,  who  more  than  fifty  times  a 
year,  put  his  finger  in  his  throat  after  an  enormous  din- 
ner, to  help  his  stomach  get  rid  of  an  unmanageable 
load.  What  dyspeptic  is  not  sorry  over  his  habit  of 
surfeiting?  He  prays,  and  resolves,  and  re-resolves, 
but  stuffs  on.  Not  an  occasional  dyspeptic  does  this, 
but  ninety-nine  in  every  hundred  fall  into  this  vice 
daily,  semi-daily,  tri-daily,  To  tell  him  as  Dr.  John- 
son does,  that  when  his  "food  is  followed  by  an  inap- 
titude for  mental  or  corporeal  exertion,  he  has  trans- 
gressed the  rules  of  health  and  is  laying  the  foundation 
for  disease,  is  giving  him  no  news.  It  is  simply  say- 
ing that  when  he  has  eaten  too  much,  he  has  eaten  too 
much.  They  will  all  tell  you:  "Oh,  I  know  that 
very  well,  and  I  am  perfectly  aware  that  if  I  ate  half 
as  much  as  I  do,  I  should  get  over  all  my  sufferings ; 
I  know  what  I  ought  to  do,  but  the  difficulty  is  to  do 
it.  The  table  is  loaded  with  the  most  tempting  viands, 
the  friends  are  social,  and  press  me  to  eat  of  this  and 
of  that,  until  I  have  eaten,  what  both  in  quantity  and 
quality  I  cannot  digest. 


100  .FOOD. 

It  is  really  amusing  to  read  the  writings  of  such 
grave  men  on  this  point.  They  seem  to  think  that  all 
men  eat  just  what  they  believe  in  their  sober  judgment 
is  best,  and  that  all  they  need  to  correct  their  sad  di- 
etetic abuses,  is  to  be  told  that  they  must  not  eat 
too  much. 

But,  exclaims  some  one  with  a  large  bump  of  firm- 
ness, and  small  appetite,  you  do  not  mean  to  confess 
that  you  eat  what  you  know  will  hurt  you  ?  I  will  re- 
ply for  myself:  yes  !  I  have  done  it  a  thousand  times. 
A  thousand  times  I  have  taken  my  seat  at  the  table, 
with  a  perfect  consciousness  that  I  ought  to  eat  a  very 
moderate  meal  of  the  plainest  food,  and  then  have  gone 
on  to  eat  of  two  or  three  courses,  ending  with  a  rich 
pudding  or  dessert,  and  as  a  consequence  have  clouded 
my  mind.  If,  my  dear  sir,  you  scorn  the  idea  that 
you  could  act  so  unwisely,  the  difference,  after  all,  be- 
tween us,  may  be  that  I  have  attended  more  carefully 
than  you  have,  to  the  effects  of  food  upon  the  body. 
If  you  say  you  have  not  been  sick  at  the  stomach,  or 
suffered  pain,  or  been  kept  awake,  or  had  bad  dreams, 
or  the  head-ache,  or  fallen  into  a  fever,  from  your  eat- 
ing, I  can  say,  neither  have  I !  Except  a  slight  attack 
of  ague,  I  was  never  sick ;  but  yet,  nearly  all  my  life, 
my  powers — physical,  mental  and  moral,  have  been  more 
or  less  manacled  and  crippled  by  excessive  eating. 
And  until  I  began  to  practice  the  rule  which  I  aua 


FOOD.  101 

about  to  present  for  your  consideration,  I  could  never 
say  I  was  free  from  the  dominion  of  appetite. 

In  the  case  of  intoxicating  drinks,  we  see  the  same 
unhappy  weakness.  And  so  impossible  is  it  found  to 
stop  at  what  is  called  the  right  place,  that  we  find, 
nothing  will  save  the  majority  of  men  from  gross  drunk- 
eness,  but  total  abstinence.  In  regard  to  eating,  we  can 
not  practice  total  abstinence,  and  so  must  overcome  the 
weakness  of  our  perverted  nature,  by  moral  effort  and 
systematic  rules. 

THE  BEST  EULE  AS  REGARDS  QUANTITY  OF  FOOD. 
I  have  referred  to  the  several  rules  which  various  emi- 
nent authors  have  given  to  regulate  the  quantity  of  our 
food.  And  I  have,  I  trust  with  becoming  deference, 
given  my  objections  to  them  all.  I  shall  now  submit 
my  own  rule.  It  is  this  : 

BEFORE  YOU  TAKE  THE  FIRST  MOUTHFUL,  PLACE 
UPON  YOUR  PLATE  AT.T.  YOU  ARE  TO  EAT,  AND  EAT 
BUT  TWICE  A  DAY  I 

This  rule  accomplishes  all  that  the  practice  of 
weighing  our  food  does,  for  soon  the  eye  can  determine, 
with  all  needed  accuracy,  the  quantity,  and  without 
the  display  of  a  pair  of  scales. 

It  is  better  than  the  rule  of  Dr.  Johnson  and  others, 
which  I  have  given,  viz  :  watching  while  you  are  eat- 
ing, for  the  first  indications  of  having  enough  ;  for  as 
9* 


102  FOOD. 

I  Lave  shown,  it  is  almost  impossible  for  a  dyspeptic 
with  his  morbid  appetite,  to  watch,  or  halt  when  he 
does  discover  that  the  food  fails  to  give  the  intense 
gratification  of  the  first  moment.  This  is  the  great 
difficulty — to  use  calm  judgment  and  moral  firmness 
in  the  midst  of  the  absorbing  pleasures  of  a  delicious 
meal.  I^im  free  to  confess,  I  have  rarely  done  it,  and 
I  think  I  may  without  =harsh  judgment  say,  I  do  not 
know  half  a  dozen  persons  who  can. 

But  with  my  rule  all  this  difficulty  vanishes ;  for  be- 
fore the  appetite  is  excited)  you  decide  the  quantity. 
It  is  very  easy,  when  you  rise  in  the  morning,  to  say,  I 
will  this  day  eat  most  temperately.  It  is  about  as  easy 
after  sitting  down  at  the  table,  to  say,  I  will  eat  ab- 
stemiously, and  to  decide  how  much  I  will  eat,  by  tak- 
ing the  quantity  upon  my  plate  ;  but  if  you  undertake  to 
decide  when  in  the  course  of  the  meal  you  ought  to  stop, 
you  would,  nine  meals  in  ten,  do  just  what  nine  people 
in  every  ten  do — eat  too  much. 

"With  this  rule  you  always  avoid  the  dessert,  and  the 
condiments  which  in  the  shape  of  extra  salt,  mustard, 
pepper,  &c.  are  almost  sure  to  find  their  way  to  your 
plate  during  the  meal. 

With  my  rule  you  are  sure  to  enjoy  all  the  advant- 
ages of  Prof.  Hitchcock's  rule  of  one  dish,  or  one 
course.  Indeed,  this  rule  of  eating  is  worth  prac- 
tically more  than  all  other  rules  which  have  been  given. 


FOOD.  103 

I  have  a  voracious  appetite,  about  like  the  average 
of  men,  1  think.  This  rule  has  proved  so  important  to 
me  that  I  would  not  abandon  it  for  thousands  of  dol- 
lars. I  commend  it  not  only  to  all  dyspeptics,  but  to 
those  who  have  a  tendency  to  consumption.  I  believe 
to  the  latter  it  will  prove  a  most  important  preventive, 
and  curative  measure. 

TESTIMONY  ABOUT  THE  CONNECTION  BETWEEN 
FOOD  AND  CONSUMPTION.  "  I  am  acquainted  with 
the  case  of  a  young  man,  who  for  some  time  had  been 
in  a  very  precarious  state  of  health,  apparently  on  the 
verge  of  phthisis  pulmonalis,  (consumption,)  who  has 
completely  recovered,  by  the  use  of  a  diet  consisting 
solely  of  bread  made  of  wheaten  meal,  without  separ- 
ating any  part  of  the  bran,  and  using  no  other  liquid 
but  pure  water.  This  simple  diet  he  still  uses  of  choice, 
and  cheerfully  foregoes  all  other  luxuries,  for  the  ben- 
efits which  he  derives  from  it.  This  diet,  might,  how- 
ever, be  rendered  more  palatable,  in  the  estimation  of 
other  invalids,  without  diminishing  its  salubrity,  by  ad- 
ding a  little  milk  to  the  water ;  and  if  desired,  a  little 
sugar  ;  and  the  bread  toasted  and  infused.  With  such 
a  diet  a  prince  even  might  Lc  satis/led."  Thus  writes  an 
esteemed  correspondent  of  Prof.  Hitchcock. 

Sir  Tames  Clark  entertained  the  opinion  that  improper 


104  FOOD. 

food  was  an  efficient  cause  of  consumption  from  its 
interference  with  the  due  nutrition  of  the  body.  He 
thought  food  of  a  proper  kind,  in  excess,  also  induces 
especially  in  youth,  that  state  of  body  favorable  to  the 
development  of  scrofula.  The  adaptation  of  food, 
both  in  quantity  and  quality,  to  the  wants  of  the  body, 
is  a  matter  rarely  attended  to.  By  a  too  stimulating 
diet,  the  stomach  becomes  disordered,  the  secretions 
impaired,  the  circulation  unbalanced,  the  skin  dry  and 
harsh,  and,  often,  as  a  consequence,  tuberculous  dis- 
ease results. 

An  eminent  American  author  affirms,  "  that  where  all 
the  arts  of  cookery  are  brought  into  requisition  to  tempt 
the  appetite,  it  not  unfrequently  produces  consumption. 
Grave  errors  in  diet  prevail  in  infancy,  producing  de- 
structive consequences  by  creating  a  morbid  condition 
of  body.  Defective  food  produces  that  feeble  develop 
ment  of  the  organism  which  is  always  associated  with 
the  tuberculous  diathesis  ;  but  superabundant  and  exci- 
ting food  produces  an  equally  morbid  condition  of  the 
body  and  derangement  of  its  functions,  rapidly  wasting 
the  vitality.  Children  thus  over-fed  are  never  healthy. 
Their  excessive  fulness  and  redness  of  face,  though 
often  exhibited  by  fond  parents  with  pride,  are  the  re- 
sult of  pampering  and  high  feeding,  and  indicate  an 
abnormal  and  unhealthy  condition.  If  there  is  thn 


FOOD.  105 

least  tuberculous  tendency,  such  feeding  hastens  it  Into 
activity.  Tea,  coffee,  and  solid  animal  diet  in  child- 
hood are  pernicious.  It  is  a  false  notion  that  the  scrof- 
ulous and  tuberculous  require  high  feeding.  This 
often  develops  the  very  evil  it  is  designed  to  remedy," 

Dr.  Hunt  asks,  "Is  it  not  strange  how  people,  even 
the  most  considerate,  trifle  with  their  stomachs.  Many 
a  one  seems  to  prefer  to  take  medicine  to  avoiding  it  by 
a  proper  regulation  of  the  appetite.  You  may  stuff 
the  stomach  to  the  full,  year  after  year,  but  as 
sure  as  effects  follow  causes,  so  sure  will  you  reap  the 
accumulating  penalty.  Our  own  nation  is  proverbial 
for  gormandizing,  and  over-feeding  is  already  beginning 
to  deteriorate  the  energies  of  the  American  people^" 

Dr.  Mussey  says,  that  "large  feeding  is  likely  to  be 
followed  by  disease." 

In  a  convict  establishment  in  Australia,  excessive 
feeding  brought  on  cutaneous  eruptions,  diseases  of  the 
eyes  and  of  the  stomach,  in  many  hundred  of  the  pris- 
oners. Short  allowance,  and  work  effected  a  speedy 
cure. 

A  physician  of  extensive  practice  declares,  that  he 
'  *  has  never  lived  through  a  Christmas  or  Thanksgiving, 


106  CONSUMPTION. 

without  frequently  being  consulted  for  ailments  pro- 
duced by  excessive  eating."  He  says,  "it  would  seem 
as  if  multitudes  thought  they  had  a  gluttonous  license 
once  a  year,  and  that  the  most  appropriate  method 
of  expressing  gratitude,  was  by  stuffing  the  stomach.** 

Dr.  Johnson  says  that  "if  we  continue  to  eat  as 
heartily  after  changing  from  an  active  to  a  sedentary 
life,  some  form  of  indigestion  will  ensue." 

Lola  Montez  declares,  the  "ordinary  fare  of  a  fash- 
ionable lady  is  sufficient  to  destroy  the  brightest  and 
smoothest  skin." 

Graham  says,  "it  is  beyond  all  question  true,  that 
hi  all  countries  where  human  aliment  is  abundant  and 
easily  procured,  gluttony  and  excessive  alimentation 
are  decidedly  the  greatest  source  of  disease,  suffering, 
and  premature  death." 

DIET  FOR  CHILDREN.  Scrofulous  children  are  gen- 
erally large  eaters,  while  excessive  eating  produces 
scrofula.  Surfeiting  is  a  common  vice  among  children, 
producing  not  only  a  peculiar  cachexia,  but  resulting 
in  mental  stupidity  and  unmanageable  temper.  Parents 
seem  to  think,  their  own  experience  may  all  go  for 
nothing — that  their  children  must  in  this  most  import- 


FOOD.  107 

ant  department  stumble  on  as  if  they  had  no  friend  to 
guide  them.  No  matter  how  morbid  the  child's  appe- 
tite, the  parent  declares,  "he  shall  have  what  he  wants 
to  eat ;  no  child  of  mine  shall  go  hungry." 

I  am  acquainted  with  a  family,  in  which  about  the 
average  amount  of  stuffing  is  indulged.  To  my  ex- 
postulations, the  mother  has  replied  :  "I  may  not  be 
able  to  give  my  children  as  much  education  as  some 
folks,  and  I  may  not  be  able  to  give  them  any  property, 
but  as  long  as  we  can  get  it,  they  shall  have  what  they 
want  to  eat."  I  have  spoken  of  their  black  teeth,  bad 
breath,  eruptions,  and  frequent  sickness.  "Yes,"  she 
has  replied,  "I  know  all  that,  but  would  you  have  me 
stop  them  before  their  appetites  are  half  satisfied,  and 
tell  them,  'there,  that  is  all  you  can  have?'  No,  you 
may  be  all  right,  they  may  eat  too  much  !  but  I  can't 
help  it ;  as  long  as  I  can  get  it,  my  children  shall  have 
enough  to  eat ;  it  never  shall  be  said,  that  I  have 
starved  them."  If  children  desire  to  attend  a  dancing 
party,  or  the  theatre,  or  to  drink  a  glass  of  wine,  the 
parent  says,  No  !  He  has  no  hesitation  in  asserting 
his  authority  in  reference  to  all  violations  of  law — phys~ 
ical,  mental,  social,  moral  and  religious — all  except 
one — the  child's  desire  for  rich  and  indigestible  food, 
It  may  be  said  that  the  objectionable  articles  are  on  the 
table,  the  parents  themselves  partake  of  them,  and 
therefore  cannot  with  propriety  forbid  the  child.  The 


108  CONSUMPTION. 

parent  does  wrong  in  this  bad  example,  besides  injuring 
his  own  health,  but  even  this  is  not  a  sufficient  excuse, 
for  the  father  does  deny  his  child  tea,  coffee,  and  to- 
bacco, while  he  indulges  in  them  himself;  or  he  allowd 
his  son  to  drink  a  single  mouthful  of  coffee,  and  denies 
him  a  further  indulgence.  This  indulgence  of  children 
at  table  is  an  absurd  weakness,  not  to  say  affectation, 
utterly  inconsistent  with  manly  or  womanly  dignity  and 
courage. 

Every  father,  every  mother  should  say  to  each  child — 
"a  moderate  quantity  of  the  plainest  food  is  best  for 
you.  Neither  soul  or  body  can  flourish  on  a  surfeit." 
Of  course,  every  explanation  and  expostulation  should 
be  employed.  But  as  a  dernier  resort,  the  parent  must 
not  shrink  from  the  exercise  of  his  rightful  authority. 
I  have  spoken  thus  plainly  and  at  length  on  this  sub- 
ject, because  I  deem  it  of  the  first  importance,  and  it 
seemed  to  me  that  the  obligations  of  parents  was  not 
generally  recognized. 

But  what  should  children  eat?  is  asked.  They 
should  eat  bread  and  milk,  or  coarse  bread  and  cream, 
with  fruit ;  or  oat-meal,  or  "diamonds"  with  butter  and 
fruit,  for  breakfast.  They  should  eat  no  gravy,  or 
meat,  or  buckwheat  cakes,  or  hot  bread ;  nor  drink  cof- 
fee or  any  other  warm  drink. 

For  dinner,  they  should  eat  some  of  the  articles 
mentioned  above,  with  an  addition  of  uncooked  fruit. 


FOOD.  109 

Some  children,  who  live  much  in  the  open  air,  may 
perhaps  be  allowed  a  moderate  quantity  of  lean  meat 
at  dinner  time,  but  no  pie  or  pudding. 

For  supper — which  should  come  early — a  little  fruit, 
and  coarse  bread  with  milk. 

The  quantity  for  a  child  from  five  to  fifteen,  should 
be  from  one  quarter  to  one  half  as  much  as  a  working 
man  eats.  The  common  notion,  that  when  a  child  is 
growing,  he  needs  unlimited  quantities  of  food,  is  an 
error.  It  is  true  that  during  this  period  he  is  adding, 
perhaps  two  ounces  a  day,  to  his  weight,  but  the  quan- 
tity he  eats  in  view  of  this  increase  of  weight,  is  fearful 
to  behold.  The  explanation  of  the  excessive  eating 
among  children,  is  this — indulged  with  a  variety  of 
dishes,  they  eat  enormously,  which  engenders  a  crav- 
ing for  another  large  meal,  and  so  on — their  youthful 
and  elastic  constitutions  enabling  them  to  bear  the  ex- 
cess without  immediate  and  serious  injury.  Let  them 
be  confined  to  one  or  two  plain  dishes  at  a  meal,  and 
the  quantity  be  determined  for  them,  and  let  that  quan- 
tity be  a  small  one ;  it  will  soon  be  found  that  a  growing 
child  does  not  need  to  be  stuffed,  and  that  his  appetite 
will  soon  become  reasonable.  And  if  the  food  be  very 
plain,  and  mostly  or  entirely  vegetable,  it  will  soon  be 
observed  that  the  child's  teeth  are  whiter,  its  breath 
sweeter,  its  skin  clearer,  its  tongue  cleaner,  its  eyes 
brighter,  its  sleep  quieter,  its  brains  sharper,  and  to 
10 


110  CONSUMPTION. 

temper  more  amiable.  There  are  few  changes  in  the 
management  of  children  which  would  prove  so  bene- 
ficial as  that  from  the  present  mode  of  cramming 
with  a  multitude  of  rich  foods,  to  a  plain  vegetable 
diet,  eaten  in  regular  and  moderate  quantities. 

It  is  my  conviction,  matured  after  many  years'  ob- 
servation, that  the  dietetic  errors,  among  children, 
which  I  have  so  briefly  and  imperfectly  discussed,  are 
second  only  to  impure  air,  in  producing  the  scrofulous 
cachexia. 

I  find  in  a  little  work,  published  by  the  Harpers, 
nearly  thirty  years  ago,  the  following  colloquy,  which 
seems  to  be  so  happily  expressed,  that  I  give  it  entire. 

APPROPOS  DIALOGUE.  "Being  called,  not  long 
since,  to  visit  the  family  of  an  old  acquaintance,  in  a 
professional  way,  I  have  thought  best  to  insert  in  this 
place  the  substance  of  an  interview  which  presents  this 
subject  in  its  true  light.  My  advice  was  requested  in 
the  case  of  a  young  lady  who  was  indisposed  after  a 
night's  dissipation  at  a  fashionable  party.  I  found  her 
reclining  in  an  easy  chair,  with  cheeks  flushed,  hurried 
respiration,  and  the  whole  countenance  expressive  of 
great  anxiety.  After  a  few  preliminaries,  the  conver- 
sation occurred,  nearly  as  follows  : — 

'  *  Were  you  in  the  usual  health  till  last  evening  ? " 

"Yes,  nearly,  except  the  anxiety  of  preparing  for 
the  party." 

"Did  your  anxiety  destroy  your  appetite?" 

"Oh  no,  not  much  ;  it  only  kept  me  a  little  flurried." 


FOOD.  Ill 

Her  father,  a  plain,  honest  man*  very  promptly 
answered,  "  She  has  hardly  taken  food  enough  to  keep 
her  alive,  the  last  two  days." 

"Have  you  slept  well  at  night?" 

"Yes,  generally,  very  well." 

Her  sister,  a  frank,  open-hearted  girl,  replied,  "Why, 
Jane  !  we  have  both  of  us  lain  awake,  and  talked  al- 
most all  night  about  the  party,  ever  since  we  received 
our  invitations." 

' '  How  long  were  you  at  the  party  ? " 

"About  three  hours." 

"At  what  time  did  you  return  home?" 

"About  one  o'clock." 

' '  Did  you  feel  chilly  when  coming  home  ?  " 

"Yes,  doctor,  and  before  too;  for  when  I  sat  by 
the  window  to  rest  me,  after  dancing,  I  felt  as  if  I 
was  taking  cold." 

"  Did  you  dance  much  in  the  course  of  the  evening  ?  " 

"Oh,  no,  indeed,  I  never  dance  much  at  parties  ;  I 
only  danced  ten  times." 

6 '  Did  you  experience  any  shortness  of  breath  when 
dancing  ?  " 

(With  her  hand  on  her  side  and  panting.)  "No, 
doctor,  I  never  get  out  of  breath ;  I  could  breathe 
last  night  just  as  well  as  I  can  this  moment." 

Her  sister  again  says,  "Why,  Jane  !  how  can  you 
say  so?  I  wonder  how  you  could  breathe  at  all,  for 
you  know  we  broke  three  strings  before  you  were  laced 
to  suit  you." 

"Did  you  rest  well  last  night,  or  rather  tills  morn- 
ning,  after  you  retired?" 


112  CONSUMPTION. 

"No,  doctor — I  had  such  a  pain  in  my  stomach  that 
I  could  not  sleep." 

"By-the-way,  did  you  take  anything  last  night  to 
disagree  with  your  stomach?" 

"No,  not  in  the  least." 

"I  presume  you  at  least  tasted  the  refreshments?" 

"Yes,  I  ate  five  or  six  pickled  oysters,  and  drank  a 
little  coffee." 

' '  Did  you  eat  a  bit  of  the  tongue  ?  " 

"I  just  tasted  it." 

"A-la-modebeef?" 

"  Only  a  morsel." 

"Did  you  try  a  bit  of  the  turkey?" 

"Just  a  wing." 

"How  was  the  jelly  ?" 

"Very  fine,  but  I  only  tasted  it." 

"Did  you  try  the  sweetmeats,  blanc  mange,  ice- 
creams, oranges,  custards,  and  cakes?" 

"Only  a  mouthful  of  each." 

"Mr. is  noted  for  his  choice  wines.  I  pre- 
sume you  tasted  his  champagne  and  lemonade?" 

"I  drank  two  glasses  of  champagne,  and  when  I 
was  very  warm  two  or  three  of  lemonade  I " 

'  *  And  yet  you  took  nothing  to  disagree  with  you  ?  " 

"No,  not  in  the  least." 

"Did  you  dance  after  this?" 

"Only  twice — for  I  felt  fatigued  and  had  a  little 
headache." 

"Let  me  tell  you,  miss,  that  your  supper  and  dan- 
cing have  put  you  in  such  a  condition,  that  if  you  are 


FOOD.  113 

able  in  a  month  to  attend  another  party,  you  may  be 
thankful." 

"Why,  doctor,  you  needn't  say  that;  for.  I  saw 
ladies  who  ate  twice  as  many  things  as  I  did,  and  twice 
as  much  of  them." 

WASTE  IN  RICH  FOOD.  Few  spectacles  are  more 
painful  than  the  struggle  often  seen  among  the  poor  to 
keep  their  table  supplied  with  the  "best  in  the  market." 
Foregoing  books,  periodicals,  a  good  house,  good  clothes, 
the  healthful  luxury  of  a  summer  trip,  etc.,  they  de- 
vote everything  to  supplying  their  table.  They  are 
ashamed  to  be  seen  eating  plain,  cheap  food ;  not 
ashamed  to  live  in  a  poor  house,  to  wear  insufficient 
clothing ;  to  have  no  library,  to  have  no  pew  in  church, 
to  have  nothing,  and  be  nothing,  if  only  their  table  is 
well  supplied.  I  declare  it  is  a  low,  vulgar  ambition — 
pride  on  the  lowest  plane  of  life. 

I  spent  some  time,  a  few  years  ago,  in  the  hospitals 
of  Paris.  I  knew  several  French  students — superior, 
refined  gentlemen — recognized  leaders  among  us,  who 
boasted  that  they  lived  on  seven  sous  a  day ;  and  who 
would  take  out  of  their  pockets,  and  eat  for  a  lunch, 
in  our  presence,  a  piece  of  coarse,  dark  bread,  and  two 
or  three  chestnuts.  Here,  no  matter  what  the  circum- 
stances of  the  family,  if  a  luncheon  is  sent  to  be  eaten, 
at  school  intermission,  you  may  be  sure  it  is  composed 
of  pies,  cakes,  or  some  other  equally  vile  and  expensive 
10* 


114  CONSUMPTION. 

trash.  I  repeat,  it  is  low  and  vulgar,  and  shows  that 
the  pivotal  fact  of  our  life  is  to  be  found  in  the  belly. 

A  family  of  parents  and  five  children  will  expend 
upon  the  ordinary  diet  not  less  than  $500  per  year. 
I  can  feed  the  same  family  a  great  deal  better — they 
shall  have  better  health,  happier  tempers,  clearer  heads, 
and  not  wear  out  half  so  fast,  upon  $200  per  year. 
What  a  library  could  be  purchased  in  a  single  year 
with  the  saving  1 

How  this  great  economy  is  practiced,  may  be  learned 
in  pleasant  detail,  by  consulting  a  very  readable  little 
work,  known  as  "How  TO  LIVE,"  published  by  Fow- 
ler &  Wells,  New  York. 

I  have  little  hope  the  information  will  be  sought ;  the 
pride  over  the  table  is  too  strong.  For  myself,  I  con- 
fess, I  should  rather  save  in  my  eating,  than  in  any 
other  indulgence.  I  had  rather  save  in  my  palate 
pleasures,  than  in  the  food  for  my  intellectual,  social, 
moral  or  religious  nature.  If  any  of  my  readers  has 
the  same  conviction,  I  would  advise  him  to  try  a  plain 
diet,  mostly  vegetable,  and  if  he  has  i\o  use  for  the 
money  thus  saved,  I  suggest  a  gift  to  the  Government 
in  this  hoiir  of  trial. 

When  friends  m§et  for  a  visit,  the  central  fact  of  the 
occasion  is  a  table  loaded  with  an  endless  variety  of 
rich  and  indigestible  compounds,  which  makes  them 
stupid  for  the  residue  of  the  evening,  and  half  sick  for 


FOOD.  115 

days  afterward.  When  subsequently  they  refer  to  any 
circumstance  of  the  gathering,  they  will  tell  you,  it  oc- 
curred half  an  hour  before  dinner,  or  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  after  dinner.  Every  thing  dates  from  the  surfeit. 
In  brief,  intellectual,  social,  and  religious  interests  are 
all  subsidiary  to  the  eating.  This  entire  absorption  in 
the  pleasures  of  the  palate,  is  amusingly  shown  in  a 
visit  among  farmers.  A  half  dozen  women  assemble 
at  a  neighbor's  house  to  spend  an  afternoon,  to  visit 
with  Mrs.  Smith,  the  lady  of  the  house.  But  the  com- 
pany is  scarcely  seated,  before  Mrs.  Smith  disappears, 
and  in  the  course  of  two  hours  she  comes  in  all  aglow, 
to  announce  that  tea  is  ready,  "ladies,  will  you  walk 
out  to  tea  ? "  An  hour  after  tea,  when  the  company  is 
ready  to  leave,  Mrs.  Smith  wipes  her  hands,  and  comes 
out  of  the  kitchen  long  enough  to  say  "good-bye,"  and 
to  promise  that  before  long  she  will  "come  over"  to 
pay  them  all  a  visit.  And  then  they  go  home  to  suf- 
fer the  head-ache  from  the  abominably  strong  tea,  they 
have  drank. 

I  have  heard  Frenchmen  laugh  most  heartily  at  our 
social  gatherings.  No  man  or  woman  of  weak  diges- 
tion can  stand  them.  To  visit  every  afternoon  for  a 
week,  would  exhaust  the  strongest  woman,  not  because 
chatting  with  neighbors  is  hard,  for  the  tongue  is  not 
easily  fatigued,  but  because  of  the  hot  biscuit,  cake, 
preserves  and  strong  tea.  It  is  really  ludicrous — the 


116  CONSUMPTION. 

way  they  attack  one  of  the  company  who  falters.  Let 
her  speak  of  drinking  only  one  cup,  or  part  of  a  cup, 
or  having  it  made  weaker,  and  they  all  turn  upon  her 
as  if  she  doubted  the  essential  article  in  the  religious 
creed.  "What,"  they  say,  "you  going  to  give  out?" 
Let  her  say  nay  I  to  any  of  the  six  kinds  of  cake,  not 
one  of  which  an  ostrich  could  eat  without  a  bad  taste 
in  the  mouth  next  morning,  and  the  lady  of  the  house 
at  once  declares,  that  she  must  taste  of  that  particular 
kind,  for  she  has  been  trying  a  new  recipe  and  wants 
her  opinion  of  it.  But  why  need  I  rehearse  what 
every  one  is  so  familiar  with  ?  Our  social  gatherings 
are  a  great  deal  more  piggish  than  .human. 

Such  meetings  would  be  greatly  improved  by  intro- 
ducing the  French  custom,  of  keeping  the  refreshments 
in  an  adjoining  room,  to  which  persons  in  need,  may 
go  for  a  little  fruit,  bread,  or  simple  drink,  and  soon 
returning,  join  again  in  the  social  and  intellectual  feast, 
which,  among  human  beings,  should  ever  constitute  the 
principal  attraction  at  all  social  gatherings. 

EATING  WHEN  SICK.  It  is  the  custom  among  a  cer- 
tain class  of  people,  when  a  member  of  the  family  falls 
sick,  to  begin  at  once,  to  ask,  "now  what  can  you  eat?" 
Every  one  has  heard  the  old  story,  of  the  man,  who 
always  ate  eighteen  apple  dumplings  when  he  was  sick. 
On  one  occasion,  when  engaged  upon  the  eighteenth, 


FOOD.  117 

his  little  son  said,  "pa,  give  me  a  piece?"    "No  I  no  I 
my  son,"  replied  the  father,  "go  away,  pa's  sick." 

When  a  young  man,  who  has  surfeited,  in  season 
and  out  of  season,  until  exhausted  nature  gives  way, 
and  a  fever  is  coming  on,  the  good  busy  mother  is  in 
trouble.  She  anxiously  inquires,  "Now,  John,  what 
can  you  eat?"  You  must  eat  something!  People  can't 
live  without  food  !"  Then  come  toast,  tea,  etc.  The 
stomach  is  exhausted,  and  no  more  needs  stimulus  or 
food,  than  a  jaded  horse  needs  the  whip  !  What  is 
needed  is  rest, — complete  rest.  Nine  tenths  of  the 
acute  diseases  might  be  prevented,  by  a  few  days'  star- 
vation, when  the  first  indications  appear.  I  don't 
mean  complete  abstinence  in  every  case,  but  perhaps  a 
piece  of  coarse  bread,  with  cold  water  for  drink.  If 
such  a  policy  were  generally  adopted,  what  ruin  would 
overtake  the  medical  profession  I 

The  physical  as  well  as  the  spiritual  man  would  be 
greatly  purified  by  abstinence  or  extreme  abstemious- 
ness during  Sunday.  If  I  were  asked  what  I  thought 
would  most  improve  the  religious  exercises  of  the 
SabbatK,  I  should  reply,  "  Let  the  people  eat  almost 
nothing  on  that  day,  and  let  them  have  pure  air  in  the 
church.  This,  I  am  sure,  would  do  vastly  more  for 
the  souls  of  the  congregation,  than  all  the  Hebrew 
which  has  cost  the  pastor  so  much  time  and  labor. 

I  trust  I  shall  not  be  understood  as  speaking  dis- 


118  CONSUMPTION. 

paragingly  of  religious  teachers  or  teaching.  Tht 
pulpit  is  an  immense  power  for  God  and  humanity, 
but,  unfortunately  for  parishioners,  the  pastor  rarely 
preaches  from  the  text : — 

" 1  beseech  you,  therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mer- 
cies of  God,  that  ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sac- 
rifice, holy,  acceptable  unto  God,  which  is  your  rea- 
sonable service." 

Other  texts,  found  in  the  sacred  scriptures,  are 
equally  earnest  in  urging  as  a  Christian  duty  the  purifi- 
cation and  sanctification  of  the  body. 

Every  man  has  within  himself  five  natures,  if  you 
please — the  physical,  intellectual,  social,  moral,  and 
religious.  Christ  died  on  the  cross  to  save  man. 
Some  people  say  he  died  to  save  the  soul  of  man. 
He  died  for  no  such  partial  purpose.  He  died  to  save 
man !  To  save  the  entire  man — to  redeem,  elevate, 
purify  and  glorify  the  body  not  less  than  the  soul. 
Christ  died  to  save  us  from  dyspepsia,  not  less  than 
from  profanity. 

Under  the  inspiration  of  this  great  salvation,  initi- 
ated in  the  cross  of  Christ,  "  I  beseech  you  by  the 
mercies  of  God,  that  ye  present  your  bodies  a  living 
sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  unto  God  ; "  and  rest 
assured,  that  the  service  you  render  in  a  conscientious 
observance  of  the  laws  of  health,  is  not  a  whit  less 
acceptable  to  Heaven  than  the  most  solemn  prayer. 


FOOD.  119 

VEGETARIANISM.  Not  only  in  regard  to  tubercular 
disease,  but  in  reference  to  general  health  and  long 
life,  physiologists  are  divided  on  this  subject.  The 
practice  of  the  most  civilized  peoples  is  in  favor  of  a 
mixed  diet.  But  it  must  be  admitted,  that  a  large 
proportion  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  planet  live  almost 
exclusively  upon  vegetable  food.  Which  of  the  two 
classes  is  most  healthy  and  long-lived,  it  is  perhaps 
impossible  to  determine.  And  if  it  were  possible, 
still,  the  fact  would  not  be  decisive,  because,  food  is 
only  one  of  the  factors  which  go  to  make  up  human 
life. 

The  champions  of  vegetarianism  claim  that  the 
Irish  and  Scotch,  who  live  almost  exclusively  upon 
vegetable  food,  are  more  vigorous  and  enduring,  as 
laborers  and  soldiers,  than  the  English,  who  use  much 
animal  food.  It  is  not  denied  that  the  Russian  sol- 
dier, whose  food  is  extremely  coarse,  and  almost 
entirely  vegetable,  is  more  hardy,  and  recovers 
from  graver  wounds,  than  soldiers  of  meat-eating 
nations. 

."  The  American  people  are  the  greatest  eaters  of 
animal  food.  The  pork  consumed  in  the  United 
States  is  three  times  the  quantity  consumed  by  the 
same  number  in  Europe,  if  statistical  accounts  are  to 
be  believed.  Animal  food  is  generally  set  on  the 
table  three  times  a  day  in  the  Western  country.  An 


120  CONSUMPTION. 

Irishman  writing  home  and  extolling  the  luxuries  of 
his  condition  in  the  New  World,  added,  by  way  of  a 
clincher,  that  he  commonly  took  meat  twice  a  day ; 
upon  which  his  employer  asked  him  why  he  did  not 
state  the  whole  truth.  He  replied  that  if  he  had  said 
three  times,  all  of  his  friends  would  have  believed  that 
he  lied.  This  was  going  a  little  too  far  for  common 
credulity.  But  after  all,  the  Americans  are  a  spare, 
hungry-looking  people,  not  appearing  as  if  well  nour- 
ished. The  inhabitants  of  Northern  Europe  and  Asia 
are  physically  and  morally  weak,  though  living  mostly 
on  fish  and  flesh.  The  strongest  men  in  the  world, 
of  whom  we  have  any  account,  are  the  porters  of 
Smyrna,  who  never  taste  flesh.  The  South  Sea 
Islanders  are  very  powerful  men,  and  live  mostly 
upon  a  diet  of  vegetables  and  fruit.  It  is  said  that 
the  soldiers  of  Greece  and  Rome  seldom  tasted  meat, 
though  qualified  by  physical  courage  and  endurance 
for  the  conquest  of  the  world.  The  suspicion  is  quite 
strong  that  Jonathan  would  gain  flesh  and  improve  his 
appearance,  by  substituting  bread  and  vegetables  for  a 
part  of  his  animal  food." 

Able  works,  presenting  the  claims  of  vegetarianism, 
have  been  written  by  learned  and  philanthropic  men. 
To  these  works  I  refer  those  who  are  interested  in  the 
subject. 


FOOD.  121 

DIET  FOR  CONSUMPTIVES.  Whatever  opinions 
may  be  entertained  with  reference  to  the  use  of  a 
flesh  diet,  for  mankind  in  general,  I  think  there  can 
be  no  serious  argument  in  respect  to  the  diet  of  con- 
sumptives. For  them,  a  substantial,  nutritious,  un- 
etimulating  diet — which  means  one  with  little  or  no 
animal  food — is  best.  I  know  the  fashion  of  the  hour 
— it  is  porter,  beef,  and  whiskey.  I  might  hesitate  in 
pronouncing  against  this  stimulating  practice,  and  in 
favor  of  an  opposite  policy,  if  I  were  not  aware  that 
the  ablest  writers  on  the  treatment  of  consumption,  on 
both  sides  of  the  ocean,  have  strongly  advocated,  on 
behalf  of  consumptives,  a  plain,  unstimulating  diet. 
Among  the  standard  authors,  in  this  department  of 
medical  practice,  almost  every  one  declares  for  this 
policy.  One  of  the  best  American  authors  says : — 

"  The  truth  is,  the  loss  of  flesh  is  not  ordinarily 
referrible  to  defective  diet,  but  to  the  influence  exerted 
over  nutrition  by  the  disease  which  is  going  on  in  the 
lungs ;  and  in  proportion  as  the  action  of  this  is  les- 
sened— which  is  best  effected  by  a  mild  diet — will  be 
the  improvement  in  the  nutritive  function. 

A  mild,  farinaceous  and  milk  diet,  I  consider  to  be 
generally  best  adapted  to  consumptive  subjects,  and  its 
quantity  must  be  varied  according  to  circumstances. 
For  example,  other  things  being  equal,  one  who  was 
mostly  confined  to  the  house,  would  require,  and  be 
11 


122  CONSUMPTION. 

capable  of  digesting  less  food  than  another  who  passed 
much  of  his  time  in  exercise  in  the  open  air.  It 
should  ever  be  remembered  that  the  healthful  nourish- 
ment obtained  from  food,  is  not  in  proportion  to  the 
quantity  taken  into  the  stomach,  but  to  that  which  is 
digested  perfectly  and  with  facility. 

Few  articles  have  enjoyed  a  higher  and  more  per- 
manent reputation,  as  a  diet,  in  consumption,  than 
milk.  It  appears  to  hold  a  rank  intermediate  between 
vegetable  and  solid  animal  food.  It  is  quite  nutri- 
tious, in  most  constitutions  readily  assimilated,  and 
occasions  less  vascular  excitement  than  flesh,  and 
hence  seems  peculiarly  adapted  to  most  cases  of  con- 
sumption. If,  therefore,  milk  is  agreeable  to  the  pal- 
ate and  stomach,  it  may  be  viewed  as  a  fortunate  cir- 
cumstance, since  little  difficulty  need  then  be  appre- 
hended in  regulating  the  diet." 

Sir  James  Clark,  author  of  the  ablest  work  in  our 
language  on  consumption,  declares  : — 

"  The  cases  likely  to  be  cured  by  the  stimulating 
plan  of  treatment, — by  the  beef-stake-and-porter  sys- 
tem,— bear  so  small  a  proportion  to  those  which 
would  be  injured  by  it,  that  I  do  not  consider  it 
deserving  of  further  notice.  Many  more  patients 
have  been  preserved  by  the  early  adoption  of  a  milk 
and  vegetable  diet,  with  a  residence  in  the  country ; 


FOOD.  123 

and  the  instances  are  numerous  in  which  this  regimen, 
adopted  in  the  commencement  of  tuberculous  disease, 
has  proved  more  serviceable  than  any  other." 

Some  consumptives  eat  enormously  without  appar- 
ent inconvenience.  This  has  led  to  the  supposition 
that  in  this  disease  the  patient  may  be  allowed  to  eat 
any  thing  and  every  thing  he  craves,  and  in  any 
quantity.  Roast  beef,  porter,  fat  pork,  and  other 
stimuli,  are  constantly  advised  even  for  patients  with  a 
pulse  above  one  hundred.  "  No  idea  is  more  falla- 
cious, or  productive  of  more  mischief,"  says  Morton, 
* '  than  the  popular  belief  that  the  strength  of  the 
patient  is  supported  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of 
aliment,  he  may  take  into  the  stomach ;  often  it  acts 
as  an  irritant,  leaving  the  whole  system  overcharged 
and  enfeebled." 

J.  C. — aged  26,  a  brilliant  young  lawyer,  had 
symptoms  of  phthisis.  He  was  weak,  irritable,  and 
daily  growing  thin.  Upon  consulting  his  physician, 
he  was  advised  to  eat  plentifully  of  beef,  and  to  drink 
"pure  bourbon."  Still  failing,  he  came  to  me.  I 
found  in  the  left  subclavicular  region  unmistakeable 
evidence  of  tubercular  deposit.  His  pulse  was  ninety- 
six  at  eleven  o'clock,  A.  M., — general  condition 
wretched.  I  ordered  a  diet  of  bread  and  milk  for 
breakfast,  coarse  bread,  cream,  and  fruits,  for  dinner, 
and  for  supper,  abstinence,  with  bed  at  eight  o'clock. 


124  CONSUMPTION. 

A  series  of  special  exercises — which  appear  in  this  work 
— and  a  daily  bath  were  instituted  ;  out-of-door  sports 
and  cheerful  society  enjoined,  with  freedom  from  busi- 
ness cares.  In  six  weeks  his  pulse  had  fallen  to 
eighty,  his  spirits  and  a  healthier  color  had  returned ; 
he  had  increased  in  weight,  and  his  nocturnal  restless- 
ness had  given  place  to  refreshing  sleep.  Three  years 
after,  with  the  exception  of  a  slight  dullness  on  percus- 
sion over  the  apex  of  the  left  lung,  he  seemed  in  per- 
fect health. 

The  practice  of  prescribing  rich  food,  bourbon,  and 
porter,  for  incipient  consumption,  has  become  com- 
mon. It  is  really  strange  that  the  temporary  fullness, 
heightened  color,  and  increased  weight,  which  some- 
times follow  this  regimen,  snould  deceive  any  body. 
The  observations  of  the  most  thoughtful  practitioners 
go  to  show  that  there  is  no  chronic  malady  in  which 
the  forcing  processes  are  more  injurious,  and  in  which 
a  plain,  nutritious,  unstimulating  diet  is  more  bene- 
ficial. 

Let  me  speak  in  a  practical  way.  A  poor  woman 
dressed  in  the  habiliments  of  poverty,  comes  to  ask 
my  advice  about  her  lungs.  At  a  glance  I  see  she 
has  been  starved.  The  conversation  brings  out  shin- 
bones,  poor  soups,  cheap  breads,  and  other  innutri- 
tious  stuff.  I  examine  her  lungs.  No  doubt  of 
tuberculous  deposit.  Now,  here  is  a  case  for  substan- 


FOOD.  125 

tial,  nutritious,  and  gently  stimulating  food.  She  has 
been  over  worked.  I  order  rest.  My  second  patient 
is  a  fashionable  lady.  The  stethescope  tells  the  sad 
story.  The  conversation  is  full  of  beef,  coffee,  and 
bourbon.  Her  doctor  has  warned  her  against  night 
air,  open  windows,  cold  bathing,  and  fatiguing  exer- 
cise. She  is  taking  cod-liver  oil.  I  say  to  this 
woman,  "  Madam,  you  are  killing  yourself.  You 
must  eat  bread  and  milk  for  breakfast ;  or,  if  this 
don't  agree  with  you,  take  oat-meal  porridge,  or 
unleavened  brown  bread,  with  cream  and  baked  fruits. 
For  dinner,  a  slice  of  cold  roast,  with  potatoes, 
cracked  wheat,  or  '  diamonds,'  with  cream  and  fruits 
ad  libitum ;  and  bed  at  eight  o'clock,  for  supper. 
You  must  live  in  the  open  air,  and  sleep  with  open 
windows,  no  matter  about  the  weather.  You  must 
bathe  in  cold  water,  after  which  your  skin  must  be 
rubbed  till  it  is  as  red  as  a  boiled  lobster.  You  must 
use  an  open  fire,  dress  like  a  Christian,  and  exercise 
freely." 

All  who  have  been  starved  into  consumption  must 
be  feasted.  All  who  have  been  feasted  into  it  must  be 
starved.  And  yet  for  the  surfeited  class,  the  plain 
diet  contains  ten  times  as  much  nuti-iment  which  they 
can  assimilate,  as  the  old  stimulating  one.  The  boui 
bon  and  similar  things  produce  a  temporary  excite- 
11* 


126  CONSUMPTION. 

ment  which  only  helps  to  hasten  the  pulse  and  the 
disease. 

I  say  to  my  consumptive  patients  almost  uniformly, 
while  the  pulse  is  quicker  than  natural,  you  must  eat 
little  or  no  meat  and  no  gravies ;  you  must  drink 
neither  coffee  nor  tea ;  you  must  avoid  sweetmeats, 
pastry,  pickles,  and  other  trash,  as  well  as  hot  breads. 
You  must  eat  coarse  bread  and  milk,  bread  and  but- 
ter, baked  apples  and  other  fruits,  for  breakfast.  For 
dinner,  a  little  beef  or  mutton,  (if  your  pulse  is  not 
too  high,)  with  bread,  potatoes,  cream,  and  fruits. 
Instead  of  taking  supper,  take  your  bed  at  eight 
o'clock. 

This  diet  is  not  given  as  exclusive  of  all  others,  but 
as  suggestive  of  the  best.  This  advice  is  designed  for 
those  who  really  desire  to  get  well,  and  have  the 
pluck  to  leave  the  beaten  track. 

AN  AVERAGE  BOARDING  HOUSE.  A  few  years  ago 
I  was  one  of  seven  boarders  in  what  is  called  a  first- 
class  boarding  house.  Beside  my  wife  and  self,  I  do 
not  think  any  one  of  the  company  was  quite  well. 
The  English  gentleman  who  sat  at  my  left,  was  a 
great  sufferer  from  vertigo,  and  was  in  constant  appre- 
hension of  apoplexy.  His  excellent  wife  was  afflicted 
with  an  unseemly  eruption  of  the  face,  and  periodical 
lieadache.  Farther  down  sat  a  pale,  elegant  gentle- 


FOOD.  127 

man,  whose  descriptions  of  his  sufferings  from  dyspep- 
sia were  painful  to  hear.  His  sister,  who  sat  at  his 
side,  used  to  say,  that  her  brother  thought  his  dyspep- 
sia a  terrible  affair,  but  if  he  could  bear,  for  a  single 
hour,  the  agonies  of  her  indigestion,  he  would*  be 
thankful  to  return  to  his  own  sufferings.  Both  were 
afflicted  with  a  hard,  deep  cough.  Our  remaining 
boarder  was  a  young  fellow  who  spent  his  two  thou- 
sand a  year  on  his  appetites,  and  suffered  greatly 
from  what  is  called  "  biliousness." 

We  had  three  or  four  courses  at  dinner,  and,  unless 
in  the  midst  of  a  "lad  turn"  each  one  of  the  five  faced 
the  enemy  like  veterans,  never  flinching  until  the  last 
foe  was  slain. 

I  was  "moved"  to  speak  on  the  subject  of  human 
food.  The  discussion  grew  warm.  My  English  friend 
knew!  he  had  tried  the  starving  plan.  It  might  be 
good  for  some  folks,  but  it  would  not  do  for  him. 
His  wife  had  tried  brown  bread,  and  her  face  had 
grown  worse  all  the  time. 

But  as  a  man  who  eats  and  drinks  temperately  can 
keep  his  temper,  and  as  I  had  the  truth  on  my  side,  I 
carried  the  day,  and  induced  all  but  our  young  sprig 
with  the  two  thousand  dollars  a  year,  to  try  the  new 
plan.  Coffee  and  tea  were  thrown  out  ;  we  ate  but 
twice  a  day ;  no  one  ate  more  than  I  did, — this  was 


128  CONSUMPTION. 

less  than  one  half  their  previous  quantity, — and  al{ 
desserts,  except  a  little  fruit,  were  avoided. 

In  less  than  two  months  the  vertigo  was  gone,  red- 
ness of  face  entirely  gone,  periodical  headache  much 
relieved,  and  the  dyspepsia  and  cough  non  est  inven- 
tus.  They  could  hardly  believe  it.  Was  it  possible 
that  all  their  lives  they  had  been  eating  twice  as  much 
as  they  could  digest. 

They  labored,  in  turn,  with  our  young  sprig,  but  he 
invariably  ended  the  argument,  with,  "  As  long  as  the 
old  governor  comes  down  with  the  shiners,  I  shall  give 
the  ponies  full  play." 

What  an  abomination  our  hotel  and  boarding  house 
tables  are.  While  returning  from  Europe  in  the 
"  Baltic,"  I  picked  up  the  bill  of  fare  for  the  "  Cap- 
tain's dinner,"  and  have  it  before  me  now.  If  the 
vile,  indigestible,  French  compounds  were  printed  in 
this  book,  they  would  cover  at  least  three  pages. 
Think  of  it !  On  board  ship  ;  no  exercise  ;  nearly  all 
except  the  crew  more  or  less  deranged  in  stomach  with 
the  motion  of  the  ship ;  needing  nothing  but  a  little 
coarse  bread,  fruit- and  lemonade,  and  yet  sitting  down 
to  a  table  loaded  with  a  hundred  indescribable  com- 
pounds, each  swimming  with  grease  I  No  inconsider- 
able part  of  the  sufferings  from  sea-sickness  may  be 
traced  to  this  stupid  and  almost  malicious  management 


COLDS.  129 

of  the  table.  What  Company  will  inaugurate  a  new 
policy?  I  shall  soon  visit  Europe  again,  and  I  will 
give  fifty  dollars  additional  passage  money  for  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  the  company  sit  down  to  plain 
coarse  bread,  delicious  fruits,  and  cool  lemonade. 


COLDS. 

"Feed  a  cold  and  starve  a  fever,"  is  a  favorite 
saw.  With  people  whose  reason  is  stronger  than  their 
appetite,  and  who  have  had  any  experience,  it  is  unnec- 
essary to  discuss  this  foolish  adage.  Both  colds  and 
fevers  should  be  starved,  and  while  it  is  more  import- 
ant to  starve  the  latter,  the  former  is  very  happily  af- 
fected by  abstinence.  A  cold  in  the  head,  with  dis- 
charge from  the  nose,  and  sense  of  fullness,  with  head- 
ache, is  sensibly  lessened  by  the  omission  of  a  single 
meal.  If  the  sufferer  live  twenty-four  hours  upon  a 
slice  or  two  of  coarse  bread,  and  take  an  occasional 
glass  of  water,  he  will  then  be  prepared  to  defend  the 
policy  of  starving  a  cold. 

While  a  cold  is  never  the  cause  of  consumption,  it 
frequently  rouses  into  activity  tubercles  already  exist- 


130  CONSUMPTION. 

ing  in  the  lungs.  Those  who  have  consumptive  taint 
should  protect  themselves  against  colds.  The  most 
effective  means  in  securing  this  protection  is  bathing 
and  friction.  While  the  surface  has  a  vigorous  circu- 
lation, colds  are  impossible.  The  cold-bath,  with 
the  use  of  rough  towels,  flesh-brushes  and  hair-gloves, 
contributes  most  effectually  to  the  maintenance  of 
Buch  a  circulation. 

Avoidance  of  hot  drinks  is  another  important  pre- 
ventive measure.  The  usual  draughts  of  coffee  and 
tea  produce  much  susceptibility  to  colds.  Consump- 
tives should,  for  this  reason,  use  cold  drinks.  Sleep- 
ing and  sitting  in  well  ventilated  rooms  is  another 
most  important  prophylactic  means.  Furnace-heated 
and  un ventilated  houses  create  a  liability  to  colds,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  direct  influence  of  the  vitiated  air. 

Many  colds  are  taken  through  the  feet.  A  frequent 
cold-water  foot-bath,  with  sharp  friction  and  slapping 
with  the  hands,  can  scarcely  be  overrated.  Stamping 
the  feet,  or,  if  so  circumstanced  that  the  noise  is 
objectionable,  standing  on  one  foot  and  kicking  with 
the  other,  in  many  directions,  in  the  air,  greatly 
improves  the  circulation.  For^a  discussion  of  the  best 
boots  and  shoes,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  article, 
"Our  Shoes." 


CONDIMENTS.  131 

CONDIMENTS. 

Civilized  man  uses  a  great  number  of  substances, 
known  as  condiments,  mainly  to  increase  the  appetite, 
and  relish  for  food.  Those  best  known,  are  salt,  pep- 
per, spice,  ginger,  cinnamon,  nutmeg,  cloves,  mustard, 
oil,  etc.  Only  the  steward  of  a  large  hotel,  or  first- 
elass  ocean  steamer,  knows  what  immense  quantities  of 
these  articles  are  consumed. 

A  few  vegetarian  reformers  avoid  these  condiments. 
All  others  use  them  more  or  less  with  every  meal. 
There  is,  perhaps,  no  well  defined  notion  in  reference 
to  the  part  they  play  in  the  animal  economy,  but  every 
thing  is  condimented,  or  it  would  be  flat  and  tasteless. 
I  do  not  understand  the  effects  of  these  condiments  be- 
yond the  temporary  stimulus.  But  even  this  is  a 
somewhat  serious  objection,  as  beside  the  irritation  of 
the  mucous  lining,  it  greatly  serves  to  increase  the 
quantity  of  food  eaten.  I  do  not  believe  that  a  single 
one  of  the  articles  known  as  condiments,  is  necessary 
to  health,  with,  perhaps,  the  exception  of  salt.  I 
have  no  doubt,  the  whole  of  them  are  more  or  less  in- 
imical to  the  highest  physiological  conditions.  When 
the  appetite  flags,  and  the  cold  roast  fails  to  stimulate 
the  palate,  a  little  mustard  will  whet  the  appetite,  but 
under  such  circumstances  it  is  never  best  to  force  upon 
the  stomach  what  the  palate  does  not  gratefully  accept. 
It  is  but  another  form  of  the  old  practice  of  forcing 


132  CONSUMPTION. 

the  stomach  with  the  preparatory  grog.  In  a  state  of 
nature  and  perfect  health,  a  man  no  more  needs  pepper 
than  the  deer  or  the  eagle,  and  with  an  unperverted 
taste,  he  would  no  more  desire  it.  If  he  has  habit- 
uated himself  to  the  use  of  such  stimulating  appetizers, 
his  condition  is  certainly  not  the  most  desirable. 

The  castor  ought  never  to  appear  on  the  table.  It 
contains  nothing  which  is  not  more  or  less  mischievous. 
I  trust  I  shall  not  be  misunderstood ;  I  do  not  mean  to 
say  that  condiments  are  deadly  poisons  ;  I  only  mean 
to  say,  that  in  the  highest  health  they  are  unnecessary, 
and  must  ever  affect,  more  or  less  mischievously,  the 
stomach,  and  the  tissues  generally. 

SALT.  I  have  a  friend,  who  believes  the  excessive 
use  of  salt  has  much  to  do  with  that  morbid,  irritable 
condition  of  the  solids  and  fluids  which  characterizes 
phthisis  pulmonalis. 

Salt,  as  an  article  of  human  food,  has  been  much 
discussed.  Those  who  claim  it  is  necessary,  bring 
many  facts  to  sustain  then*  position.  For  example, 
animals  in  a  state  of  nature,  and  therefore  without 
those  morbid  cravings  which  a  false  civilization  engen- 
ders, are  so  fond  of  salt,  that  they  seek  it  in  journeys 
of  hundreds  of  miles,  and  amidst  the  greatest  difficul- 
ties and  dangers.  The  hunter  has  learned  that,  al- 
though the  deer  may  be  frightened  away,  still,  if  he 


CONDIMENTS.  133 

wait  patiently,  the  poor  creature's  hunger  for  salt  is  such 
that  it  will  soon  return.  Many  birds  have  such  a  crav- 
ing for  salt,  that,  forgetting  their  timidity,  they  fly  into 
the  immediate  presence  of  the  sportsman,  upon  a  salt 
marsh.  Our  domestic  animals  show  the  greatest  avid- 
ity for  salt.  Can  we  deny,  that  all  this  tends  to 
prove,  that  it  is  not  a  poison?  The  advocates  of  salt 
bring  forward  a  number  of  facts,  gathered  from  obser- 
vation among  the  native  tribes  of  Africa  and  South 
America,  showing  that  the  desire  for  salt  is  uncontroll- 
ably strong,  even  among  the  little  children  of  these  na- 
tural tribes.  But  so  far  as  the  question  of  poison  is 
concerned,  I  should  prefer  to  rest  the  argument  upon 
facts  gathered  from  the  lower  animals. 

The  physiological  chemist  informs  us,  that  salt  is 
found  in  nearly  all  the  tissues  of  the  body.  The  read- 
ers of  history  will  remember,  that  criminals  are  said  to 
have  been  tortured  to  death — eaten  alive  by  worms — 
because  deprived  of  salt. 

The  argument  against  salt  is  based  on  physiological 
hypothesis,  and  upon  facts  showing  the  effects  of  its 
excessive  use.  As  to  the  latter,  the  advocates  of  salt 
would  not  make  issue. 

For  myself  I  never   eat   more   of  this   condiment, 
than  finds  its  way  into  the  food  while  in  the  kitchen ; 
but  I  believe  that  a  moderate  use  of  it  is  not  only 
harmless,  but,  perhaps,  necessary  to  health. 
12 


134  CONSUMPTION. 

I  am  sorry  I  cannot  quite  agree  with  the  dietetic  re- 
formers on  this  subject.  As  a  class,  these  laborers  are 
so  conscientiously  and  usefully  engaged  on  behalf  of 
human  health,  and  so  much  have  they  been  ridiculed, 
that  I  feel  it  an  honor  and  privilege  to  range  myself 
with  them.  But  I  believe,  the  crusade  against  salt,  is 
one  of  those  instances  of  special  pleading,  into  which 
reformers i  devoted  to  a  special  work,  are  prone  to  fall. 
I  take  the  liberty  to  refer  those,  who  would  investigate 
the  subject  farther,  to  "Johnston's  Chemistry  of  Com- 
mon Life." 


DKINKS. 

The  subject  of  drinks  is  one  of  much  importance  in 
its  bearing  upon  the  causes  and  treatment  of  diseases 
of  the  pulmonary  apparatus.  Alcoholic  stimulants, 
which  in  a  multitude  of  forms  have  been  advised,  I 
discuss  in  another  place.  In  this  place  I  desire  to  call 
attention  to  tea  and  coffee.  That  both  of  these 
injures  the  stomach,  more  or  less,  cannot  be  doubted. 
"Who  would  think  of  giving  these  drinks  to  a  candidate 
for  the  prize  ring  ?  Trainers  of  pugilists  by  instinct 


DRINKS.  135 

understand  this  subject.  The  influence  of  tea  and 
coffee  upon  the  nervous  system  is  too  familiar  with 
most  people  to  need  description.  Calfskin  is  soon 
tanned  in  strong  green  tea.  The  effect  of  this  nar- 
cotic beverage  upon  the  women  of  America  is  pain- 
fully obvious.  Nearly  twenty  years  ago,  while  prac- 
tising my  profession  in  the  State  of  New  York,  I  fre- 
quently met  three  or  four  middle-aged  or  old  women, 
and  during  several  hours  had  opportunity  to  observe 
them  closely.  If  some  time  had  passed  since  they  had 
partaken  of  tea,  they  were  unsocial  and  irritable. 
Their  eyes  would  not  sparkle,  except  on  hearing  the 
question,  "I  wonder  when  tea  will  be  ready?" 
When  they  had  drank  their  two  cups  ' '  that  would 
hold  up  an  egg,"  what  a  loosening  of  tongues  !  Each 
would  talk  straight  on,  for  an  hour,  without  a  comma ; 
but  when  its  influence  was  over,  they  fell  into 
weariness  and  irritability  again,  only  to  be  revived  by 
another  dose.  When  we  witness  the  same  phenome- 
non among  opium  eaters,  we  are  sure  they  are  ruining 
their  health.  That  tea-drinking  seriously  impairs  the 
health  of  many  women,  I  know.  How  exactly  alike 
all  strong  tea-drinkers  are — the  same  black  teeth  and 
dry,  yellow  skin ;  the  same  expression  of  eye ;  the 
same  nervousness  and  periodical  headache.  The 
habitual  use  of  this  beverage,  especially  in  early  life, 
and  with  the  sedentary  habits  of  our  young  women, 


136 


CONSUMPTION. 


plays  a  part  in  the  development  of  that  peculiar  ca- 
chexia  whose  termination  is  phthisis  pulmonalis.  It  is 
strange  that  girls  who  so  greatly  desire  fresh  com- 
plexions will  drink  tea.  Opium  will  not  more  surely 
produce  a  dry,  yellow,  mottled  skin.  Afraid  of  the 
sun,  and  yet  drink  tea  ! 

Green  tea,  in  its  influence  upon  the  health,  is  the 
worst  of  all  our  drinks.  Black  tea  is  less  pernicious, 
and  if  used  quite  weak,  and  in  small  quantities,  may 
not  be  seriously  injurious. 

Coffee,  except  in  those  who  have  a  tendency  to  con- 
gestive headaches,  is  a  better  drink  than  strong  green 
tea,  though  it  is  usually  drank  so  strong,  that  the 
health  is  much  injured  by  it. 

Prof.  Hitchcock  declares  that  the  bewitching  influ- 
ence of  tea  and  coffee  lies  in  their  narcotic  properties. 
"  Their  exciting  principle  is  essentially  the  same  as 
that  of  spirits  and  wine." 

Dr.  Trotter's  opinion  is,  that  the  only  cure  for  ner- 
vous maladies  "  lies  in  total  abstinence  from  fermented 
liquors,  tea,  coffee,  and  all  other  narcotics.'* 

Dr.  Bell  expressly  says  that  the  effect  of  coffee 
upon  ' '  the  bowels  and  nervous  system  is  most  per- 
nicious." 


DRINKS.  137 

Dr.  Combe  says  that  coffee,  though  it  may  "  in- 
crease our  comforts  for  the  time,  exhausts  in  the  end." 

Prof.  Sweetzer  is  of  the  belief  that  "  the  long  con- 
tinued use  of  coffee  is  productive  of  palsies." 

Londe,  a  distinguished  French  writer,  declares  that 
"  coffee  should  be  used  only  in  those  circumstances  in 
which  spirituous  liquors  are  admissible." 

Sinibaldi,  an  Italian  medical  author,  makes  the 
following  statement : — ' '  Commerce  with  Asia  has 
brought  us  a  new  drink,  (coffee,)  which  has  con- 
tributed strikingly  to  the  destruction  of  our  constitu- 
tions ;  producing  debility,  convulsions,  palsy,  vertigo, 
and  many  other  disorders." 

Mellingcn  declares  that,  "  coffee  produces  fever, 
anxiety,  palpitation,  trembling,  weak  eyes  and  apo- 
plexy." 

Dr.  Alcott  affirms  that,  "  neither  tea  or  coffee 
make  a  particle  of  blood,  or  give  a  particle  of 
strength.  The  stimulation  which  accompanies  theii 
use,  is  followed  by  corresponding  depression  "  He 
affirms  that  tea-drinkers  often  lose  their  power  of  self- 
control,  and  do  and  say  many  things  which  in  cooler 
hours  they  deeply  regret. 


138  CONSUMPTION. 

If  one  must  use  warm  drink,  either  cocoa  or  choco 
late  is  admissible ;  and  either  corn,  rye,  barley,  wheat, 
or  peas,  Avell  parched,  ground,  and  infused,  makes  a 
very  palatable  and  harmless  drink,  if  not  used  too  hot. 
For  myself,  I  always  prefer  hot  water,  which,  with  a 
little  good  milk,  or  cream,  is  a  grateful  beverage.  I 
do  not  mean  that  it  equals  good  Mocha,  but  neither  is 
Mocha  equal  to  good  brandy  or  wine.  I  think  neither 
of  them  equal  to  a  good  cigar ;  but  is  that  a  good  rea- 
son why  either  of  them  should  be  used? 

Of  all  drinks,  cold  water  is  the  best.  Rain-water, 
or  distilled  water,  is,  for  drinking  purposes,  inferior  to 
the  water  of  lakes,  rivers,  and  springs,  which  contain 
a  per  centage  of  calcareous  and  other  foreign  matter. 
There  is  a  happy  adaptation  between  our  organizations 
and  the  planet  on  which  we  live.  Most  of  the  water 
which  nature  furnishes  us  contains  foreign  compounds, 
and  it  has  been  ascertained  that  our  health  is  promoted 
by  their  presence. 

It  is  quite  possible  to  drink  even  water  to  excess. 
One  glass  during  a  meal  is  generally  quite  enough. 
It  is  for  most  persons  a  healthy  practice  to  drink  a 
glass  of  water  upon  rising  in  the  morning,  and  upon 
going  to  bed  at  night. 

ALCOHOLIC     DEINKS.       Few    indulgences    break 
down  the  constitution  like  the  excessive  use  of  alco- 
12* 


DRINKS.  139 

holic  stimulants.  And  none  so  exposes  the  victims  to 
colds,  and  other  direct  and  fruitful  sources  of  pulmo- 
nary disease.  Perhaps  no  other  vice  has  produced  so 
much  mischief  in  the  world,  and  certainly  no  other  is 
more  useless.  It  is  now  well  established  that  alco- 
holic drinks  are  not  only  unnecessary,  but  positively 
injurious  under  all  circumstances,  whether  in  extreme 
cold  as  in  the  arctic  regions,  or  in  extreme  heat,  as  in 
the  English  army  in  India ;  whether  in  dry  or  damp 
regions ;  whether  at  rest  or  engaged  in  exhaustive 
labor  ;  in  sickness  or  health  ;  in  brief,  it  is  always  an 
enemy  to  health. 

Just  now,  for  the  fiftieth  time,  there  is  an  all-potent 
reason  for  its  use  in  diseases  of  the  lungs — it  is  tJie 
fashion.  For  the  present  hour,  what  is  called  bour- 
bon whiskey,  and  various  detestable  compounds,  made 
of  whiskey  and  bitters,  are  all  the  rage  in  the  treat- 
ment of  pulmonary  affections.  I  am  ashamed  of  the 
physicians  who  fall  into  this  silly  trap.  I  declare 
these  whiskey  prescriptions  not  half  as  decent  as  the 
announcements  of  the  newspaper  quacks,  who  begin 
the  puffing  of  their  worthless  trash  with  the  words  : — 
"  JOY  TO  THE  WORLD.  CONSUMPTION  CAN  BE 
CURED."  Dr.  Carpenter's  celebrated  "  Prize  Essay," 
Prof.  Yeoman's  admirable  book,  "Alcohol  and  the 
Constitution  of  Man,"  Dr.  Nott's  celebrated  "  Tem- 
perance Lectures,"  and  other  excellent  works  may 


140  CONSUMPTION. 

be  read  by   those   who    would    pursue  this   subject 
farther. 


TOBACCO. 

The  charges  against  tobacco  by  anti-tobacco  reform- 
ers have  been  extravagant.  They  have  declared  the 
use  of  a  single  cigar  a  serious  evil.  The  statement  is 
absurd,  and  re-acts  against  their  cause. 

But  it  remains  true  that  tobacco  is  a  poison — that 
its  excessive  use  ruins  the  general  health  and  stultifies 
the  brain. 

If  you  fill  the  mouth  with  smoke,  and,  holding  the 
hand  over  the  eye,  blow  the  smoke  up  under  the 
hand,  and  open  the  eye,  it  will  smart  and  weep. 
Look  in  the  glass  and  you  will  find  the  eye  reddened. 
There  has  been  an  irritant  poison  there.  What  influ- 
ence must  the  same  poison  produce  if  taken  into  the 
lungs  ?  While  their  lining  membrane  is  less  sensitive 
than  that  of  the  eye,  it  is  quite  as  delicate.  If  the 
poison,  which  so  soon  almost  blinds  your  eye,  be 
drawn  into  the  millions  of  air  cells,  can  it  prove  an 
innocent  visitor  ?  While  I  doubt  the  statement  of  Dr. 


TOBACCO.  141 

Waterhouse,  that  the  use  of  cigars  is  the  principal 
cause  of  consumption  among  the  young  men  of  the 
country,  I  have  no  doubt  that  tobacco  smoke  has 
developed  consumption  in  thousands. 

I  have  spoken  of  its  direct  influence  upon  the 
lungs  as  an  irritant  poison.  But  where  one  is 
injured  in  this  way,  many  suffer  in  the  indulgence  of 
this  habit  that  loss  of  vitality  which  is  the  essential 
fact  in  the  phthisical  diathesis.  The  nervous  system 
becomes  irritable,  the  digestive  and  assimilative  pro- 
cesses are  compromised ;  in  brief,  the  whole  constitu- 
tional health  is  more  or  less  affected. 

Tobacco  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  of  the  agen- 
cies which  tend  to  develope  the  phthisical  taint. 

TESTIMONY  ON  THE  EFFECTS  OF  TOBACCO.     Dr. 

Prout,  in  speaking  of  this  narcotic  uses  these  words : 
— •'  Tobacco  disorders  the  assimilating  functions,  and 
gives  to  certain  individuals  a  cachectic  look.  The  se- 
vere and  peculiar  dyspeptic  symptoms  sometimes  pro- 
duced by  inveterate  snuff-taking  are  well  known ;  and 
I  have  more  than  once  seen  such  disease  terminate 
fatally  with  malignant  disease  of  the  stomach  and 
liver.  The  strong  and  healthy  suffer  perhaps  but 
little,  but  the  weak  fall  victims  to  its  poisonous  opera- 


CONSUMPTION. 

tion.  Surely,  If  the  dictates  of  reason  were  allowed 
to  prevail,  an  article  so  injurious  to  the  health  and  so 
offensive  in  its  modes  of  enjoyment,  would  speedily  be 
banished." 

Prof.  Johnson  remarks,  "  that  in  America  the 
smoking  of  tobacco  provokes  to  alcoholic  dissipation." 
He  tells  us  that  both  the  oil  and  the  volatile  alkali  of 
tobacco  are  poisons  as  deadly  as  prussic  acid. 

Dr.  Chapman,  of  Philadelphia,  in  an  article  on 
"Dyspepsia,"  uses  these  words: — "The  most  com- 
mon cause  of  this  disease  in  certain  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, is  the  enormous  use  of  tobacco." 

Rev.  Geo.  Trask  says,  "On  entering  the  circula- 
tion, it  poisons  the  quality  and  diminishes  the  quantity 
of  the  blood,  and  mars  the  beauty  of  the  race  by 
making  multitudes  of  haggard,  trembling,  gloomy 
creatures  in  th?  shape  of  men." 

Dr.  Moore,  who  had  terrible  dyspepsia,  and  was  on 
the  verge  of  consumption,  found  all  remedies  useless 
as  long  as  he  continued  his  use  of  tobacco,  but  recov- 

O 

ered   immediately    upon    discontinuing   in    the    indul- 
gence. 


DRUGS.  143 

DRUGS. 

What  shall  I  say  of  drugs  ?  It  is  common  to  de- 
nounce them  with  the  doctors  who  give  them.  With 
certain  lecturers  and  writers,  the  drug-doctors  are  all 
"butchers,"  and  their  remedies  "deadly  poisons."  I 
am  myself  a  medical  man,  and  have  been  long  and 
intimately  acquainted  with  many  of  the  profession.  I 
know  well  how  conscientiously  they  deny  themselves 
the  pleasures  of  domestic  life  and  society,  for  the  sake 
of  the  sick,  and  for  a  compensation  contemptible  in 
comparison  with  that  of  other  professions.  I  cannot 
speak  of  my  profession  in  terms  other  than  those  of 
profound  respect. 

But  I  take  the  liberty  to  say  a  word  to  my  breth- 
ren, trussing  that  they  will  pardon  so  much  to  the 
earnestness  of  my  convictions.  It  is  this  :  Without 
attempting  to  discuss  the  merits  of  any  special  remedy, 
or  system  of  remedies',  does  not  the  undeniable  fact 
that  at  one  time  we  have  .advocated  the  superiority  of 
one  drug  remedy  for  consumption,  a  few  years  later 
another,  and  later  still  another,-  -with  the  adoption  of 
-each  casting  aside  its  predecessor  as  worthless, — does 
not  this  strange,  contradictory  history  of  our  attempts 
to  treat  coo  sumption  wiih  drugs,  cast  a  serious  doubt 
oy er  the  value  of  all  ? 

That  the  free  use  of  drugs  fca«,  in  multitudes  of 
cases,  undermined  the  consiitutum,  .and  sown  the  seeds 


144  CONSUMPTION. 

of  consumption,  it  seems  to  me  no  thoughtful  physi- 
cian can  doubt.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  remark  among 
physicians,  in  speaking  of  consumption,  as  of  other 
diseases, — "she  has  been  so  much  poisoned,  or  ex- 
hausted, by  drugs,  that  I  fear  nothing  can  be  done 
for  her."  Or  this, — "  the  disease  is  conquered,  and  he 
will  recover,  if  he  can  rally  from  the  effects  of  the 
medicine."  There  is  a  certain  cachectic  condition, 
which  the  discriminating  medical  man  at  once  recog- 
nizes as  the  result  of  drugs.  That  mercury  has  pro- 
duced a  vast  amount  of  consumptive  disease,  it  would 
be  easy  to  prove  by  numberless  authorities. 

I  have  greatly  rejoiced,  recently,  in  reading  several 
statements  from  eminent  physicians  of  the  regular 
school,  all  going  to  show  a  strong  tendency  among  the 
best  of  the  profession  toward  the  anti-drug,  hygienic 
treatment  of  pulmonary  cousumption. 


DRESS. 

A  natural  and  symmetrical  woman  has  ever  been  re- 
garded as  the  most  beautiful  object  on  earth. 

Artists  and  poets  have  given  their  most  exalted  in- 
spirations to  the  portrayal  of  her  matchless  charms. 
But,  strange  and  morbid  fancies,  dignified  with  the  title 
of  fashions,  have  been  busy  in  destroying  what  God 
made  -perfect. 


DRESS.  145 

The  most  destructive  of  these  fashions  is  found  in 
a  peculiarity  of  her  dress.  I  refer  to  the  practice  of 
compressing  the  middle  of  the  body.  This  strange 
fashion  has  come  into  vogue  only  quite  recently  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  and  even  now  prevails  in  only  a 
few  of  what  are  known  as  the  more  civilized  peoples, 
but  is  producing  an  amount  of  disease  and  suffering, 
which  no  finite  mind  can  measure. 

When  one  undertakes  to  fathom  the  reasons,  or  mys- 
tery of  this  fashion,  he  is  lost.  Why  intelligent  be- 
ings should,  without  regard  to  convenience  or  comfort, 
strive  to  change  the  shape  and  proportions  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  all  the  Creator's  works,  we  cannot  under- 
stand. 

By  this  practice  the  lungs  and  heart  are  forced  up 
towards  the  throat ;  the  stomach,  liver,  and  other 
organs,  jammed  down  far  into  the  abdomen ;  labored 
respiration  and  numberless  abdominal  maladies  are  the 
consequence.  But,  the  votaries  of  fashion  declare, 
notwithstanding  these  shocking  deformities  and  suffer- 
ings, that  they  regard  a  female  form  in  the  hour-glass 
shape  as  really  beautiful.  A  few  years  ago  this  mon- 
strous perversion  of  taste  was  well  nigh  universal. 
With  sincere  gratitude,  we  observe  it  is  now  gradually 
disappearing. 

This  contraction  of  the  middle  of  the  body,  by 
changing  the  position  of  the  lungs,  heart,  liver, 
13 


146  CONSUMPTION. 

stomach,  and  every  other  organ  within  the  body,  not 
only  seriously  interferes  with  their  functional  integrity, 
but  almost  invariably  produces  a  distortion  of  the 
spine.  It  is  impossible  to  reduce  the  size  of  the  waist 
by  pressure,  to  any  considerable  extent,  and  not  draw 
the  shoulders  forward  and  downward,  producing,  of 
course,  a  change  in  the  form  of  the  spine.  I  believe 
that,  among  the  thousands  of  wasp-waists  that  have 
fallen  under  my  observation,  I  have  not  seen  ten  who 
did  not  habitually  carry  the  spine  and  head  in  an 
unnatural  attitude.  Beside  this,  the  influence  upon 
the  organs  in  the  lower  part  of  the  abdomen,  furnishes 
the  medical  profession  nearly  half  its  business. 

The  corset  is  a  cruel  invention.  It  ought  at  once 
and  forever  to  be  abandoned.  Even  if  it  be  worn 
loose,  (what  lady  does  not  wear  hers  loose?)  its  stiff- 
ness entirely  prevents  that  undulating  motion  about 
the  middle  of  the  body,  which  should  accompany 
respiration.  But  if  it  be  worn  as  loosely  as  it  must  be 
to  allow  entire  freedom  to  the  lungs,  it  would  give  an 
unseemly  appearance  to  the  dress.  In  fact,  the  very 
structure  of  a  corset  renders  a  close  fit  indispensable. 
Every  conscientious  physician  has  painful  struggles 
with  this  fashion. 

A  fashionable  lady  has  just  called  upon  me  with 
reference  to  her  lungs.  I  examined  her  dress.  There 
was  the  corset,  not  as  close  as  I  have  seen,  but  close 
enough  to  make  her  cure  difficult  or  impossible.  I 


DRESS.  1-17 

said  at  once,  "  I  can  do  nothing  for  you  while  you 
wear  such  a  dress."  "  Why,  doctor,  do  you  call  that 
tight?  Why,  that  fairly  hangs  on  me."  "Yes, 
madam,  I  hear  that  every  hour.  Have  you  a  hus- 
band?" "Yes."  "And  is  he  a  healthy  man?" 
"  Indeed,  he  is  as  healthy  a  man  as  you  would  care  to 
see."  Do  you  think,  madam,  he  could  wear  such  a 
dress  as  you  have  on,  and  continue  his  business?" 
"  O,  no!  but  then  he  is  not  used  to  it."  "Do 
you  think  you  know  a  horse,  ox,  or  any  other  animal, 
that  could  wear  such  a  dress  about  the  vital  organs, 
and  continue  to  labor  in  comfort?  "  "  Well,  doctor, 
that  is  a  funny  question.  I  am  sure  I  can't  say,  but  I 
suppose  no  animal  could  wear  such  a  dress."  "  You 
are  quite  right;  neither  the  strongest  man  nor  the 
strongest  ox  could  endure  such  pressure  about  the 
vital  organs,  and  not  fail.  Ladies  delicately  born  and 
bred,  without  labor,  give  way  completely,  under  the 
cruel  pressure."  « '  What  shall  I  do  ?  "  "  Take  off  the 
corset ;  make  the  skirt-bands  and  dress  as  loose  as 
your  husband  finds  it  necessary  to  wear  his  dress,  and 
then  it  will  be  possible,  with  exercise  and  other  cura- 
tive agencies,  to  restore  you." 

Women  do  not  comprehend  * '  tight "  as  applied  to 
their  dress ;  they  understand  it  in  connection  with 
other  forms  of  pressure,  and  as  applied  to  the  drunk- 
ard, but  when  in  connection  with  their  own  dress, 
thev  are  oblivious. 


CONSUMPTION. 


lig.l 


Tig.  2.  Figr-  3. 

Figs.  1,  2,  and  3,  show  the  chest  as  God  made  it. 


DRESS. 


149 


Fig.  4. 


TTJO-    5 
x  JK-  *J« 


Tig.  6. 


Figs.  4,  5,  and  6,  are  not  in  the  Divine  fashion,  but 

in  the  Parisian  style. 
13* 


150  CONSUMPTION. 

I  shall  not  argue  the  proposition,  that  a  reduction 
of  the  capacity  of  the  most  vital  part  of  the  body 
tends  to  reduce  the  vitality,  and  thus  lays  the  founda- 
tion for  consumption.  Of  all  maladies,  pulmonary 
consumption  is  most  clearly  the  result  of  low  vitality. 
Whatever  breaks  down  the  tone,  may,  in  this  climate, 
lead  to  consumption.  No  habit  in  which  women 
indulge,  tends  more  directly  and  irresistibly  to  cripple 
the  vital  forces,  than  compressing  with  a  hard,  inflexi- 
ble corset,  those  organs  which  eliminate  the  vital 
forces. 

OPINIONS  OF  DISTINGUISHED  PERSONS  ON  TIGHT 
LACING.  Lewes  says,  "In  England,  women  have 
pretty  generally  learned  to  see  the  danger,  if  not 
always  the  hideousness,  of  these  wasp-waists,  once  so 
highly  prized." 

Herbst  experimented  upon  some  Kussian  soldiers 
who  laced  with  a  belt.  Pie  found  they  could  inspire 
one  hundred  and  ninety  cubic  inches  without  the  belt, 
and  but  one  hundred  and  thirty  when  laced. 

Dr.  Mussey  remarks  that,  "Whatever  contrivance 
is  so  applied  to  the  chest  as  to  shut  out  from  the  lungs 
a  part  of  the  air  they  are  capable  of  receiving,  causes 
degeneration  of  the  blood,  increases  the  liability  to 


DRESS.  151 

disease,    and  becomes  the  ground-work  of  premature 
decay  and  death." 

Dr.  Griscom  declares  that  it  is  "a  source  of  conso- 
lation to  those  interested  in  the  progress  of  civiliza- 
tion to  know  that  (  hour-glass  ivaists '  are  fast  giving 
place  to  *true  taste,  and  will  shortly,  instead  of  capti- 
vating the  eye,  be  looked  upon  with  pity  and  disgust." 

Dr.  Rush  says,  "  many  facts  might  be  mentioned  to 
show  the  influence  of  tight  stays,  ligatures,  garters, 
waistbands,  and  collars,  in  producing  diseases,  espec- 
ially of  the  lungs,  or  interfering  with  their  cure." 

Another  physician  of  eminence  says,  "  female  dress 
errs  in  the  tightness  with  which  it  is  made  to  fit  the 
body,  producing  disease  of  the  organs  of  the  chest 
and  abdomen,  and  preventing  free  and  graceful 
movements,  and  that  oxygenation  of  the  blood  so 
necessary  to  health,  good  looks,  and  long  life." 

Dr.  Hunt  makes  the  following  remark: — "  Every 
body  that  thinks,  knows  the  lungs  do  not  need  squeez- 
ing, and  that  it  is  not  sensible  for  man  or  woman  to 
wear  tight  clothing." 

Dr.  Clarke  says,  "  Since  the  free  expansion  of  the 


152  CONSUMPTION. 

chest,  or  in  other  words,  the  unimpeded  action  of  the 
respiratory  organs,  is  essential  to  health,  the  employ- 
ment of  tight  stays  and  those  forms  of  dress  which 
interfere  with  these  natural  actions  must  be  injurious, 
and  cannot  therefore  be  too  strongly  censured." 

The  celebrated  Dr.  James  Johnson  says*,  "The 
growth  of  the  whole  body  and  the  freedom  of  all  its 
functions,  so  much  depend  upon  perfect  digestion,  that 
every  impediment  to  that  digestion,  such  as  compres- 
sion of  the  middle  of  the  body,  must  inevitably  de- 
range the  whole  constitution.  Although  the  evils  of 
tight-lacing  are  as  patent  as  the  sun  at  noon-day,  I 
have  not  known  its  commission  to  be  acknowledged  by 
any  fair  dame.  It  is  considered  essential  to  a  fine  fig- 
ure, yet  I  never  could  discover  any  marks  of  stays  in 
the  statues  of  the  Medicean  Venus,  or  the  Apollo. 
And  I  venture  to  aver  that  the  Cyprian  goddess  was 
not  in  the  habit  of  drawing  her  zone  as  tight  as  the 
modern  fair  ones,  else  the  sculptor  would  have  recorded 
the  cincture  in  marble.  The  comfort  and  motions  of 
the  foot  are  not  more  abridged  and  cramped  by  the 
Chinese  shoe,  than  are  respiration  and  digestion  by  the 
stay."  Thus  wrote  the  physician  to  the  father  of  the 
present  queen  of  England. 

A  former  professor  of  the  theory  and  practice   of 


DRESS.  153 

n.edicine  in  the  university  of  Vermont  says,  "  Undue 
confinement  of  the  chest  must  at  all  periods  of  life 
be  prejudicial,  hence  the  practice  of  tight-lacing,  we 
almost  always,  find  classed  among  the  causes  of 
phthisis,  as  well  as  of  numerous  other  ills."  And  he 
adds,  "It  is  surely  an  erroneous  notion  that  women 
need  the  support  of  stays." 

Dr.  Ticknor  expresses  himself  on  this  subject  as 
follows: — "We  might,  with  the  same  propriety  that 
we  now  deform  our  bodies,  follow  the  practices  of 
savage  and  heathen  nations — we  might  slit  our  lips, 
prevent  the  growth  of  our  feet,  pluck  out  our  hair,  or 
flatten  our  heads ;  which  could  all  be  done  with  infi- 
nitely less  detriment  to  health  than  results  from  our 
own  cruel  custom  of  tight  lacing." 

BARE  ARMS  AND  LEGS.  The  practice  of  exposing 
the  arms  and  legs  bare,  or  nearly  so,  is  very  injurious 
to  the  lungs.  The  blood  not  being  able  to  make  its 
way  into  the  extremities,  accumulates  in  the  chest. 
Let  me  give  you  an  illustration.  One  morning,  not 
long  since,  I  was  asked  to  visit  a  young  lady  residing 
in  this  city,  who  was  suffering  from  a  malady  in  the 
chest.  After  an  examination  of  her  lungs,  the  father 
said :  "  Now,  sir,  if  you  are  not  in  haste,  I  wish  you 
would  remain  a  moment,  and  answer  a  few  questions. 


154  CONSUMPTION. 

"We  have  had  five  children — three  daughters  and  two 
sons.  Two  daughters  are  dead  of  consumption ;  the 
third  and  last  one,  you  inform  me,  has  tendency  to 
the  same  disease,  while  my  sons  are  perfect  illustra- 
tions of  health  and  manly  vigor.  Born  of  the  same 
parents,  fed  at  the  same  table,  enjoying  the  same  com- 
forts in  every  way,  what  is  the  reason  for  this  differ- 
ence ?  " 

I  replied  :  *  *  Birth  and  food  are  not  the  only  condi- 
tions of  health.  In  many  particulars  your  girls  have 
been  greatly  wronged.  They  have  been  practicing 
'propriety,'  while  the  boys  have  been  engaged  in 
active,  invigorating  sports.  Your  sons  have  been  at 
*  cricket'  on  the  Common,  while  your  daughters  have 
looked  at  them  through  your  front  windows,  conduct- 
ing themselves,  meanwhile,  with  the  utmost  'frqgnety.' 
The  girls  have  had  no  boisterous  games  in  which  the 
lungs  and  muscles  could  be  brought  into  vigorous  play  ; 
but  chained  by  a  vigilant  sense  of  'propriety,'  they  have 
quietly  and  languidly  dragged  themselves  along.  The 
boys,  unchained,  have  given  full  vent  to  their  instincts. 
But,  aside  from  this,  there  is  difference  enough  in 
their  dress  to  account  for  the  difference  in  their  fate. 
While  the  boys  have  dressed  their  arms  and  legs  with 
flannel  sleeves  and  drawers,  the  girls  have  almost 
nothing  about  their  limbs.  To  illustrate  this  point, 
let  us  examine  the  dress  of  your  daughter's  extremi- 


DKESS.  155 

ties.  You  see  that,  although  an  invalid,  and  there- 
fore needing  warm  dress,  she  has  nothing  on  her  arms 
but  a  single  thickness  of  silk,  and  that  in  the  shape  of 
a  flowing  sleeve.  This  gauze  undersleeve  is  not  to  be 
spoken  of  as  dress.  Her  legs  have  nothing  but  a 
single  thickness  of  cotton  drawers,  surrounded  by  these 
indefinite  skirts.  Now,  sir,  I  venture  that  you  and 
your  sons  have  on  the  arms  a  substantial  flannel  shirt- 
sleeve, with  a  thick  woollen  coat-sleeve,  the  lining  of 
which  is  thicker  and  warmer  than  the  entire  dress  of 
your  daughter's  arm.  And  you  have  on  the  legs 
warm  woollen  drawers  and  thick,  warm  pants. 

"  Your  daughter  has  a  pair  of  kid  slippers,  with  silk 
stockings,  while  you  and  your  sons  have  calfskin  boots 
with  woollen  socks." 

"  Oh,  no  I  "  exclaimed  the  daughter,  pushing  out  a 
foot ;  * '  I  wear  these  strong  boots  ;  mother  is  very  par- 
ticular about  that." 

I  said  to  the  father, — "  Observe  those  boots  ;  your 
daughter  and  her  mother  think  them  prodigious  !  Now, 
sir,  could  you  or  your  sons  keep  your  health  and  wear 
prunella  gaiters  ?  " 

"But  what  should  she  wear  on  her  feet?" 

15  She  should  dress  them  as  warmly,  to  say  the 
least,  as  you  dress  yours.  Feel  of  her  arms !  Now 
feel  of  her  legs  !  Do  you  think,  with  such  a  circula- 
tion as  that,  the  lungs  can  rid  themselves  of  conges- 


156  CONSUMPTION. 

tion?  The  blood  is  crowded  into  the  lungs,  because  it 
cannot  make  its  way  out -into  these  naked,  cold  limbs ; 
the  tubercles  are  thus  swollen  and  inflamed.  Until 
these  limbs  are  warm,  the  lungs  cannot  be  relieved  of 
their  load. 

"  While,  in  the  case  of  an  invalid,  much  may  be 
done  by  friction  and  exercise,  the  principal  reliance 
must  be  upon  clothing." 

"  What  shall  be  done?  "  at  length  asked  the  mother. 

"The  arms  and  legs  must  be  covered  with  knit, 
closely-fitting,  woollen  garments.  If  one  thickness 
will  not  keep  them  warm,  she  must  have  two.  Her 
arms  and  legs  must  be  kept  warm.  And  as  soon  as  a 
good  circulation  is  established  in  them,  you  will  ob- 
serve a  change  in  her  respiration  and  pulse." 

What  was  true  of  the  young  lady  of  whom  I  have 
spoken,  is  true  of  nearly  all  females  in  this  country. 
Look  at  the  fashionable  lady  as  she  promenades 
Washington  street,  in  December.  Her  chest  is  cov- 
ered with  several  thicknesses  of  cloth,  including,  per- 
haps, thick  pads  of  hair ;  then  a  thick  shawl,  which, 
with  its  various  doublings,  and  the  folding-over  in 
front,  often  gives  from  eight  to  twelve  thicknesses  of 
shawl ;  then  over  that,  a  set  of  immense  padded  furs ; 
while  the  legs  have  a  single  thickness  of  cotton  cover- 
ing, and  go  paddling  about  in  the  midst  of  a  skeleton 
balloon. 


DRESS.  157 

I  have  asked  my  wife  to  prepare  a  chapter  on  dress, 
in  which  I  observe  a  repetition  of  one  or  two  points 
already  made  by  myself;  but  as  the  subject  is  one  re- 
quiring "line  upon  line,  and  precept  upon  precept," 
I  have  concluded  not  to  abreviate  her  contribution. 

Mrs.  Lewis  has  in  contemplation  a  little  work  on 
the  subject  of  female  dress,  to  be  published  a  few  years 
hence,  in  which  she  proposes  to  treat  the  physiological 
aspects  of  the  subject  very  fully. 

The  subjoined  is  from  her  pen  : — 

' '  A  healthy  dress  allows  the  blood  to  circulate  freely 
through  every  part  of  the  body,  and  keeps  every  part 
nearly  at  the  same  temperature.  The  fashionable  style 
of  dress  does  not  secure  free  circulation ;  hence  cold 
hands  and  feet,  and  a  general  loss  of  vitality. 

' '  The  present  style  of  dress  compresses  the  lungs  till 
they  are  scarcely  more  than  one-half  their  natural  size , 
and  have  less  than  half  their  natural  action.  Of 
course,  they  cannot  absorb  sufficient  oxygen  to  keep 
the  body  warm.  This,  with  the  almost  complete  nudi- 
ty of  the  arms  and  legs,  produces  a  feeble  and  irregu- 
lar circulation.  These  errors  are  so  common  that  you 
may  ask  the  fashionably  dressed  women  of  the  country, 
if  they  have  warm  feet,  and  nine  out  of  ten  will  reply, 
"  Oh,  they  are  never  warm,  except  when  by  the  fire." 
As  a  result  of  these  cold  extremities,  the  blood  is 
14 


158  CONSUMPTION. 

driven  to  the  head  and  chest,  causing  frequent  head 
ache  and  palpitation  of  the  heart. 

"A  headache  is  so  common  among  our  fashionable 
women,  that  it  is  considered  vulgar  to  be  always  and 
entirely  free  from  it.  Women,  a  few  generations 
back,  had  no  such  fashion. 

"The  present  style  of  dress  exposes  the  arms  naked, 
or  nearly  so,  at  all  seasons  of  the  year. 

"A  lady  imagines,  when  she  starts  out  to  walk,  with 
the  thermometer  down  to  zero,  that  her  arms  are  suffi- 
ciently protected  if  she  only  has  on  the  fashionable 
flowing  sleeves,  with  fur  cuffs  upon  the  wrists.  When 
obliged  to  raise  the  hands J  you  see  the  naked  arm.  In 
this  condition,  the  blood  in  the  arm  becomes  nearly  as 
cold  as  the  skin,  and  this  current  of  blood  runs  back 
to  the  chest  to  chill  the  vital  organs. 

**  Would  our  fathers,  husbands  and  brothers  be  com- 
fortable with  their  arms  thus  exposed,  in  such  a  tem- 
perature ?  And  are  delicate  women,  who  live  mostly 
in  the  house,  better  able  to  bear  this  exposure  than 
strong  men? 

"Over  those  arms  should  be  worn  one  or  two  thick- 
nesses of  flannel ;  at  least,  they  should  be  clcthed 
quite  as  warmly  as  the  body.  These  extremities,  so 
far  from  the  chest,  are  more  easily  chilled  than  the 
body,  and  therefore  require  at  least  as  much  clothing 
to  keep  them  of  the  same  temperature. 


DRESS.  159 

"It  is  often  said  that  the  arras  can  become  accustomed 
to  such  exposure  as  well  as  the  face.  But  we  learn 
from  anatomy,  that  the  face  is  supplied  with  an  extra 
circulation,  to  protect  it  against  its  inevitable  expo- 
sures. 

"Many  who  by  excessive  dress  upon  the  chest,  make 
their  lungs  very  sensitive,  do  not  scruple  to  remove 
the  dress  entirely  from  the  upper  half  of  the  chest  and 
the  arms,  on  a  cold  night,  go  to  a  cold  ball-room,  and 
dance  all  night,  and  when  morning  comes,  wonder  how 
they  took  a  cold.  When,  finally,  they  are  placed  in  the 
grave  by  consumption,  developed  by  such  imprudence, 
we  solemly  talk  about  God's  mysterious  providence. 

"Not  only  is  the  dress  of  the  neck  and  arms  of  a 
fashionable  woman  entirely  wrong,  but  the  legs  and 
feet  suffer  from  the  same  error. 

"  As  the  cold  fall  weather  comes  on,  every  American 
woman  imagines,  in  order  to  keep  herself  comfortable, 
she  must  increase  the  number  and  thickness  of  her 
skirts,  while  these  skirts  are  worn,  in  great  part,  over 
her  hoop.  In  this  way  she  is  completely  dragged 
down  by  the  heavy  skirts,  which  do  almost  nothing  to 
keep  her  legs  warm. 

"The  only  way  to  keep  the  extremities  warm,  is  to 
wear  upon  them  two  or  three  thicknesses  of  woollen 
knit  garments,  snugly  fitting  them.  These  woollen 
suits  should  be  so  supported  as  not  to  drag  upon  the 


160  CONSUMPTION". 

body  in  the  least,  and  should  come  down  to  the  ankles 
under  the  stockings. 

"With  thick  woollen  stockings  and  good  boots,  made 
of  strong  leather  or  thick  cloth,  with  triple  soles,  and 
all  lined  with  cotton  flannel,  these  extremities  can  be 
kept  warm,  and  the  woman  be  able  to  go  out  freely  at 
all  seasons  of  the  year,  in  any  weather,  without  rub- 
bers, which  I  may  add,  should  never  be  worn.  Of 
course  the  cloth  uppers  cannot  be  worn  in  wet  weather. 

"The  thin  prunella  gaiter,  with  its  paper  sole,  should 
not  be  worn,  either  in  the  street,  or  in  the  house,  after 
the  changeable  weather  of  autumn  comes  on.  The 
usual  habit  of  wearing,  in  cold  weather,  slippers  in  a 
carpeted  parlor  even,  should  never  be  practiced  by 
those  who  are  feeble,  or  even  by  those  who  are  well, 
and  wish  to  keep  so.  The  floor  is  the  coldest  part  of 
a  room,  and  the  feet  require  thick,  warm  covering. 

* '  A  healthy  dress  permits  every  organ  in  the  body  to 
perform  its  functions  untrammelled.  The  fashionable 
style  does  not  allow  this  free  action  of  the  vital  parts, 
and  hence  the  present  feeble,  crippled  condition  of  the 
women  of  America.  This  evil,  together  with  other 
physiological  errors,  is  doing  much  to  shorten  the  lives 
of  our  women,  and  compromise  the  health  and  life  of 
the  whole  American  race. 

"  To  avert  these  sad  results,  and  to  improve  the  health 
of  our  women,  it  is  proposed  that  the  following  stylo 


DRESS.  161 

of  dress  be  adopted.  Such  a  dress  has  been  worn  by 
the  writer  nearly  twelve  years,  and  she  is  happy  to 
say,  it  has  saved  her  from  a  consumptive's  grave,  to 
which  she  was  slowly  but  surely  tending. 

"The  waist  should  be  several  inches  larger  than  the 
woman's  body  ;  a  little  shorter  than  the  present  fash- 
ion, and  full  in  front,  that  the  chest  may  enjoy  the 
freest  action.  The  bands  of  the  skirts  should  be  much 
larger  than  the  body  ;  the  buttons  to  be  placed  on  the 
band  of  the  inside  skirt,  just  as  they  are  on  a  gentle- 
man's pants  for  suspenders,  and  the  same  elastic  sus- 
penders worn,  crossing  behind.  Make  button  holes 
in  the  bands  of  the  other  skirts,  to  correspond  with  the 
buttons  on  the  inside  skirt,  and  button  on ;  thus  one 
pair  of  suspenders  will  carry  three  or  more  skirts. 
This  style  of  dress  is  attended  by  no  discomfort  to  the 
wearer,  and  allows  full  action  to  every  organ  of  the 
body.  Of  course,  corsets  should  NEVER  be  worn. 
And  with  the  skirts  supported  as  above  described, 
there  is  no  apology  for  wearing  them.  The  dress  I 
have  described  may  be  made  so  pretty  that  it  will  be 
much  admired. 

"  Whalebones  have  no  business  in  a  woman's  di*ess. 
They  spoil  all  that  beauty  of  outline  which  Powers  and 
other  o;vent  artists  have  found  in  the  natural  woman. 

O 

They  interfere  not  less  with  that  peculiar  undulating 
action  of  the  chest  and  abdomen  which  results  from  the 
14* 


102  CONSUMPTION. 

normal  action  of  the  thoracic  and  abdominal  viscera. 
And  if  the  waist  be  short  and  loose  as  advised  above, 
there  will  be  no  need  of  whalebones  to  keep  it  down. 

' '  God  knew  what  He  was  doing  when  He  made  the 
human  body,  and  made  it  just  right  in  every  way ;  we 
cannot  alter  its  shape  without  destroying  its  beautiful 
symmetry,  and  causing  disease  and  premature  death." 

DRESS  OF  CHILDREN. — As  bearing  upon  pulmonary 
consumption,  there  are  certain  errors  in  the  dress  of 
children  which  must  be  noticed.  I  believe  I  echo  the 
voice  of  my  profession  when  I  declare  that  the  seeds 
of  consumption  are  planted  in  thousands,  by  mistakes 
in  dress  during  infancy  and  childhood.  To  cor- 
rect these,  permit  me  a  few  practical  suggestions  : — 

The  skirt-bands  must  be  left  very  loose.  If  you 
would  give  a  baby's  lungs  and  heart  the  best  chance 
for  development,  the  dress  about  the  chest  and  waist 
should  be  so  loose  that  if  the  child  be  held  up  by 
the  shoulders,  its  entire  dress,  except  as  sustained  by 
the  shoulders,  will  fall  to  the  floor.  With  such  a 
dress  the  blood  is  so  much  better  oxygenated,  that, 
other  things  being  equal,  the  babe  will  part  with  the 
characteristic,  dark-red  color  of  its  skin  much  sooner 
than  with  a  close  dress. 

The  bones  surrounding  the  small,  feeble  lungs,  now 
for  the  first  time  beginning  to  move,  are  so  soft  and 


DEESS.  163 

pliable  that,  under  the  slightest  pressure,  they  will 
yield,  and  the  capacity  of  the  lungs  be  reduced.  I 
have  seen  the  nurse  use  the  entire  strength  of  her 
fingers  in  the  first  application  of  the  skirt-bands.  No 
thoughtful  person,  acquainted  with  the  anatomy  of  the 
thorax  hi  a  new-born  babe,  can  escape  the  conclusion 
that  its  vitality  is  seriously  compromised  by  this  pres- 
sure upon  the  principal  organs  of  that  vitality.  In 
many  instances  I  have  seen  the  character  of  the  little 
one's  respiration  and  pulse  decidedly  affected  by  en- 
larging the  skirt-bands. 

Mothers,  if  you  think  all  this  pressure  necessary  to 
give  your  babes  a  form,  as  I  have  heard  some  of  you 
say,  you  forget  that  the  Creator  of  your  child  has  all 
wisdom  and  skill,  and  that  any  changes  in  the  baby's 
form  and  proportions,  must  prove  only  mischievous. 
And  perhaps  you  may  not  feel  your  pride  hurt  by  the 
suggestion,  that  His  taste  is  quite  equal  to  yours. 
That  a  corset,  or  other  machine,  is  needed  to  give  a 
human  being  a  form,  as  is  so  often  suggested,  is  an 
imputation  on  the  Creator,  which  no  thoughtful  and 
conscientious-  person  can  indulge. 

DRESS  OF  CHILDREN'S  ARMS. — Prominent  among 
the  errors  in  the  dress  "of  children,  is  the  custom  of 
leaving  their  arms  nude. 

I  speak  of  the  dress  for  the  damp  and  cold  seasons. 


164  CONSUMPTION. 

It  should  be  added  that,  during  the  cool  summer  even- 
ings, too  much  care  cannot  be  exercised  in  protecting 
the  baby's  arms  and  shoulders.  If  the  mother  desires 
to  exhibit  her  darling's  beautiful  skin,  let  her  cut  out  a 
bit  of  the  dress  near  its  heart,  and  when  the  neighbors 
come  in,  let  her  show  the  skin  thus  exposed  to  the 
company.  This  is  so  near  the  centre  of  the  body 
that  it  has  no  chance  to  get  cold ;  but  in  the  case  of 
the  arms  and  legs,  we  have  parts  far  removed  from 
the  central  organs,  and  such  parts  require  special  pro- 
tection. 

Take  the  glass  part  of  the  themometer  out  of  the 
tin  frame,  and  put  the  bulb  in  your  baby's  mouth. 
The  mercury  rises  to  98  degrees.  Now,  on  a  cool 
evening,  place  the  same  bulb  in  its  little  hand  (I  am 
supposing  it  has  naked  arms)  ;  the  mercury  will  sink 
to  60  degrees  or  less.  Need  I  say,  that  all  the  blood 
which  has  to  make  its  way  through  the  diminutive  and 
tortuous  vessels  of  those  cold  arms,  must  become 
nearly  as  cold  as  the  arms  and  hands  themselves? 
And  need  I  add,  that  as  the  cold  currents  of  blood 
come  from  both  arms  back  into  the  vital  organs,  they 
play  the  mischief  there  ? 

If  you  would  preserve  your  child  from  croup,  pneu- 
monia, and  a  S3ore  of  other  grave  affections,  you 
should  keep  its  arms  warm.  Thick  woollen  sleeves, 


DRESS.  165 

which  fit  the  little  dimpled  arms  down  to  the  hands,  at 
least,  constitute  the  true  covering. 

A  distinguished  physician  of  Paris  declared,  just 
before  his  death, — "  I  believe  that,  during  the  twenty- 
six  years  I  have  practised  my  profession  in  this  city, 
twenty  thousand  children  have  been  born  to  the  ceme- 
teries, a  sacrifice  to  the  absurd  custom  of  naked  arms." 

When  in  Harvard,  many  years  ago,  I  heard  the 
eminent  Dr.  Warren  say,  "Boston  sacrifices  hundreds 
of  babes  every  year  by  not  clothing  their  arms." 

How  YOUNG  LADIES  CAN  MAKE  THEIR  ARMS 
GROW.  A  young  lady  asked  me,  what  she  could  do 
for  her  very  thin  arms.  She  says,  she  is  ashamed  of 
them.  I  felt  of  them  through  the  thin  lace  covering 
and  found  them  freezing  cold.  I  asked  her  what  she 
supposed  made  muscles  grow.  "  Exercise,"  she  re- 
plied. "  Certainly,  but  exercise  makes  them  grow 
only  by  giving  them  more  blood.  Six  months  of  vig- 
orous exercise  will  do  less  to  give  those  cold,  naked 
arms  circulation,  than  would  a  single  month,  were  they 
warmly  clad." 

The  value  of  exercise  depends  upon  the  temper.i- 
ture  of  the  muscles.  A  cold  gymnasium  is  unprofita- 
ble. Its  temperature  should  be  between  sixty  and 
seventy,  or  the  limbs  should  be  warmly  clothed.  I 
know  our  servant  girls  and  blacksmiths,  by  constant 


166  CONSUMPTION. 

and  vigorous  exercise,  acquire  large,  fine  arms  in  spite 
of  their  nakedness  ;  and  if  our  young  ladies  will  labor 
as  hard  from  morning  till  night  as  do  these  useful 
classes,  they  may  have  as  fine  arms ;  but,  even  then, 
it  is  doubtful  if  they  would  get  rid  of  their  congestions 
in  the  head,  lungs,  and  stomach  without  more  dress 
upon  the  arms  and  legs. 

DEPENDENCE  OF  HEALTH  UPON  CIRCULATION. 
Perfect  health  depends  upon  perfect  circulation.  Ev- 
ery living  thing  that  has  the  latter  has  the  former. 
Put  your  hand  under  your  dress  upon  your  body. 
Now  place  it  upon  your  arm.  If  you  find  the  body 
over  90  degrees  and  your  arm  under  60  degrees,  you 
have  lost  the  equilibrium.  The  head  has  too  much 
blood,  producing  headache ;  or  the  chest  too  much, 
producing  cough,  rapid  breathing,  pain  in  the  side,  or 
palpitation  of  the  heart ;  or  the  stomach  too  much, 
producing  indigestion.  Any  or  all  of  these  difficulties 
are  temporarily  relieved  by  immersion  of  the  hands  or 
feet  in  hot  water,  and  permanently  relieved  by  such 
dress  and  exercise  of  the  extremities  as  will  make  the 
derivation  permanent. 

LENGTH  OF  THE  SKIRT.  The  most  earnest  efforts 
looking  towards  dress-reform  have  had  reference  to 
the  length  of  the  skirt.  I  think  it  is  one  of  woman's 


DRESS.  1G7 

first  duties  to  make  herself  beautiful.  The  long  skirt, 
the  trail  even,  is  in  fine  taste.  Among  the  dress- 
features  of  the  stage  none  is  so  beautiful.  The  artist 
is  ever  delighted  to  introduce  it  in  his  pictures  of 
woman.  For  the  drawing-room,  it  is  superb. 
When  we  meet  on  dress  occasions,  I  cannot  see 
why  we  may  not  introduce  this  exquisite  feature.  If 
it  is  said  that  expense  and  inconvenience  are  in- 
volved, I  reply,  so  they  are  in  painting  and  statuary. 
For  church  and  afternoon-sittings,  skirts  that  nearly 
touch  the  floor  seem  to  me  in  good  taste ;  but  for 
the  street,  when  snowy  or  muddy,  for  the  active 
duties  of  house-keeping,  for  the  gymnasium,  and  for 
mountain-trips,  it  need  not  be  argued,  with  those 
whose  brains  are  not  befogged  by  fashion,  that  the 
skirts  should  fall  to  about  the  knee. 

BEST  MATERIAL  FOR  DRESS.  In  all  seasons  of 
the  year,  and  in  all  climates,  the  best  material  for 
dress,  for  old  and  young,  for  strong  and  weak,  is 
woollen.  It  is  the  poorest  conductor  of  heat,  and 
therefore  secures  the  most  equable  temperature.  This 
is  the  principal  object  of  dress.  The  superiority  of 
woollen  clothing  for  babes  is  even  greater  in  July  than 
in  January.  In  the  warmest  days  a  single  thickness 
of  soft  flannel  will  suffice.  But  if  linen  or  cotton  be 
worn,  the  garment  is  soon  moistened  by  perspiration, 


168  CONSUMPTION. 

and  two  or  three  additional  thicknesses  are  needed  to 
protect  the  child  against  the  ill-effects  of  a  draught. 

In  warm  weather  we  find  it  necessary  to  wear 
woollen  garments  in  the  gymnasium,  as  a  protection 
against  a  chill  from  draughts  while  perspiring.  Our 
soldiers  in  the  South  find  flannel  their  best  friend, 
securing  them  against  the  extremes  and  exposures  of 
their  camp  and  field  life.  Blacksmiths,  glass-blowers, 
furnace-men,  and  others  exposed  to  the  highest  tem- 
peratures, find  woollen  indispensable. 

Few  practices  will  do  so  much  to  secure  the  comfort 
and  protect  the  health  of  young  children  as  dressing 
them  in  flannel  night  and  day,  the  year  round.  It 
may  be  objected  that  flannel  irritates  a  delicate  skin. 
This  is  often  so,  as  the  skin  is  now  treated.  But 
there  is  no  baby's  skin  so  thin  and  delicate  that  daily 
bathing  and  faithful  friction  may  not  remove  this 
extreme  susceptibility.  And  as  the  skin  is  the  organ 
upon  which  the  outer  world  makes  its  impressions, 
nothing  is  more  important  than  that  all  morbid  suscep- 
tibility should  be  removed. 

An  additional  advantage  in  the  use  of  flannel  is, 
that  it  serves  by  its  mechanical  effect  to  keep  up  a 
healthy  surface  circulation,  which  is  one  of  the  vital 
conditions  of  health.  The  skin  and  the  lungs  act  and 
re-act  upon  each  other  more  directly,  if  possible,  than 


DRESS.  169 

any  other  two  organs  of  the  body.  Children  born 
with  a  predisposition  to  consumption  especially  need  a 
vigorous  treatment  of  the  skin. 

Prof.  Dunglison  says,  "  The  best  clothing  to  pro- 
tect us  from  external  heat  or  cold  is  one  that  is  a  bad 
conductor  of  caloric,  or  one  that  does  not  permit  heat 
to  pass  readily  through  it.  This  is  the  case  with 
woollen.  The  Spaniard  and  the  Oriental  throw 
woollen  mantles  over  them  when  they  expose  them- 
selves to  the  sun." 

Londe  asserts  that  "  the  use  of  woollen  next  the 
skin,  is  one  of  the  most  precious  means  possessed  by 
therapeutics.  Its  use  on  children  does  much  to  pre- 
vent bowel-affections,  and  with  it  we  can  bear  with 
impunity  the  vicissitudes  of  weather." 

Brocchi  ascribes  the  immunity  of  sheep  which  feed 
aight  and  day  in  the  Campagna  di  Roma  "  to  the  pro- 
tection afforded  them  by  their  wool." 

Patissier  affirms  that  woollen  clothing  has  been 
found  effectual  in  preserving  the  health  of  laborers 
working  in  marshy  grounds,  canals,  and  drams. 

Captain  Murray,  of  the  English  service,  after  two 
years  spent  among  the  icebergs  on  the  coast  of  Labra- 
15 


170  CONSUMPTION. 

dor,  sailed,  immediately  upon  his  return  to  England, 
for  the  West  Indies,  where  he  remained  some  months, 
and  while  other  officers  lost  many  men,  he  returned  to 
England  without  the  loss  of  a  man,  which  he  ascribed 
in  considerable  part  to  the  use  of  flannel.  So  impor- 
tant did  he  regard  this  hygienic  measure,  that  he  had 
every  man  examined  daily,  to  ascertain  that  he  had  not 
thrown  off  his  flannels. 

A  distinguished  author  writes  that  the  aged,  infirm, 
rheumatic,  and  those  liable  to  pulmonary  disease,  are 
greatly  benefited  by  the  use  of  flannel. 

Dr.  Willich  says,  "  Wool  recommends  itself  to  us, 
because  it  is  the  covering  of  those  animals  most  resem- 
bling man  in  structure." 

Count  Rumford  says  he  is  convinced  of  the  utility 
of  flannel  in  all  seasons ;  that  he  was  relieved  by  its 
use  from  a  pain  in  the  breast,  to  which  he  was  much 
subject,  and  had  never  since  known  an  hour's  illness. 

The  celebrated  Hufeland  says  it  is  a  desirable  dress 
for  the  nervous,  those  subject  to  colds,  catarrhs,  influ- 
enzas, and,  in  fact,  for  all  invalids. 


DRESS.  171 

Another  writer  says  that  desperate  diseases  would 
be  prevented,  and  many  valuable  lives  saved,  by  its 
more  universal  use. 

A  distinguished  American  physician  says  that  flan- 
nel next  the  skin  is  of  service  to  the  consumptive  by 
the  irritation  it  produces,  as  well  as  the  defence  it 
affords  against  the  cold. 

DRESS  or  MALES.  I  have  little  to  say  upon  male 
dress  beside  what  has  been  said  under  the  heading, — 
"  Best  Material  for  Dress"  Men  make  comparatively 
few  mistakes  in  this  department. 

A  few  fops  compress  the  chest  with  the  waistcoat, 
but  these  foolish  fellows  are  hardly  worth  considering. 
A  few  men  wear  their  pantaloons  without  suspen- 
ders, which  is  always  injurious  ;  the  pressure  produces 
absorption  of  the  muscles,  tends  to  push  the  abdominal 
contents  down  into  the  lower  part  of  the  abdominal 
cavity,  and  checks  the  return  of  the  blood  through  the 
surface  veins. 

Many  gentlemen  err  in  the  dress  of  their  feet ;  but 
this  is  discussed  under  the  heading, — "  Our  Shoes." 

A  great  many  wear  hats,  or  caps,  too  close  and 
warm ;  baldness  is  the  consequence.  We  never  see  a 
man  who  has  lost  a  hair  below  where  the  hat  touches 
his  head,  not  if  he  has  been  bald  fifty  years.  If  the 


172  CONSUMPTION. 

hair  is  lost,  and  the  top  of  the  head  shining,  nothing 
can-be  done  to  restore  the  hair ;  but  if  the  hair  is  fall- 
ing out,  the  best  restorative  means  is  a  frequent  bath 
in  cold  water,  with  sharp  friction,  and  the  use  of  a 
cool,  ventilated  hat. 

Wrapping  the  neck  and  upper  part  of  the  chest  with 
furs,  or  a  comforter,  is  a  bad  habit,  often  resulting  in 
a  cold,  which  attacks  the  parts  thus  unduly  heated. 
And  if  colds  are  not  caught  in  this  way,  the  neck  must 
suffer,  more  or  less,  by  the  alternation  from  heat  to 
cold.  I  have  traced  more  than  one  severe  cold,  which 
has  roused  into  fatal  action  a  tuberculous  lung,  to  the 
use  of  furs.  An  immense  number  of  them  are  worn. 

Cravats  should  be  slight  and  loose,  not  heating  the 
neck,  nor  interfering  with  the  action  of  the  muscles,  or 
the  circulation  of  the  blood. 

In  regard  to  the  coat  and  pants,  I  will  simply  say, 
that  they  should  always  be  what  the  present  fashion  is, 
— loose,  not  interfering,  in  the  least,  with  the  arms  or 
legs. 

I  have  written  a  great  deal  more  on  dress  than  I 
intended,  but  the  subject  is  one  of  such  vital  impor- 
tance, and  so  intimately  connected  with  the  health  of 
the  lungs,  that  I  could  not  say  less. 

Fully  conscious  of  many  defects  in  my  discussion  of 
the  subject,  I  take  the  liberty,  in  conclusion,  to  ex- 


OUR   SHOES.  173 

press  the  hope,  that  even  my  poor  words  may  arouse 
the  earnest  and  serious  attention  of  some  portion  of  my 
fair  countrywomen. 


OUR    SHOES. 

Perhaps  no  other  dress  topic  has  elicited  so  much 
discussion.  The  greatest  variety  of  opinion  is  enter- 
tained, both  with  reference  to  the  material  and  the 
shape.  As  the  health  of  the  feet  has  much  to  do  with 
the  health  of  the  lungs,  I  submit  a  suggestion  or  two. 

First,  the  sole  should  be  broad  and  strong,  and  the 
heels  broad  and  long.  The  width  of  the  sole  is  most 
important.  Nothing  can  be  more  absurd  and  cruel 
than  the  present  narrow  soles.  The  average  women's 
foot,  when  placed,  nude,  upon  the  floor,  with  the 
weight  of  the  body  resting  upon  it,  is  an  inch  and  a 
half  broader  than  the  average  sole  of  her  shoe.  How 
senseless,  to  hobble  about  through  life  with  the  feet 
thus  squeezed  into  half  their  natural  width.  How  the 
bones  and  ligaments  are  distorted !  Most  people  are 
ashamed  of  their  naked  feet.  I  do  not  wonder. 
With  the  toes  flattened  and  pressed  into  each  other's 
Bides ;  with  the  large  toe  pushed  far  to  one  side,  the 
at  its  base  projecting  in  a  most  unseemly  way,  we 
15* 


174  CONSUMPTION. 

have  a  painful  departure  from  the  beautiful  foot  of  the 
young  child.  The  broad-toed  boots  and  shoes  are 
physiological. 

I  will  tell  you  how  I  manage  to  induce  the  shoe- 
maker to  depart  from  his  rule,  and  make  the  sole  as 
broad  as  my  foot.  Laying  a  sheet  of  paper  on  the 
floor,  and  resting  my  whole  weight  upon  it,  on  one  foot, 
he  traces  a  pencil  mark  about  the  foot.  Then  I  say  to 
him,  "  That  is  to  be  the  width  of  the  sole."  I  say, 
* '  If  you  make  the  soles  of  my  shoes  narrower  than 
that,  I  will  not  take  them."  I  have  no  difficulty  in 
obtaining  just  what  I  want.  Many  who  are  crippling 
themselves  with  narrow  soles,  assure  me  that  they 
have  given  the  most  explicit  injunctions  to  the  shoe- 
maker to  make  the  soles  broad,  but  he  will  not  do  it. 
Adopt  the  expedient  I  have  designated,  and  you  will 
have  no  further  trouble. 

It  is  said,  if  the  shoe  is  loose,  corns  will  disappear. 
This  is  a  mistake.  The  upper  may  be  ever  so  large, 
if  the  sole  is  narrow,  the  corns  will  remain.  What  is 
needed,  is  a  sole  so  wide,  that  no  part  of  the  foot  shall 
project  over  the  sides  of  the  sole.  .  If  the  sole  be  as 
broad  as  the  foot  can  spread,  nothing  of  the  kind  will 
occur. 

If  you  support  your  weight  upon  one  foot,  placed 
upon  a  narrow  sole,  from  which  the  upper  has  been  cut 
away,  you  will  observe  the  sides  of  your  foot  at  the 


OUR  DRESS. 


175 


little  toe,  and  the  large  joint  at  the  base  of  the  great 
toe  will  project  over  the  sole,  and  if  the  sole  be  a  thin 
one,  the  sides  of  the  foot  will  reach  the  floor.  Now 
suppose  the  upper  to  be  in  position.  Is  it  not  obvious 
that  the  sides  of  the  foot  will  press  against  the  upper, 
and  more,  that  there  must  be  friction  between  the  foot 
and  the  leather.  In  this  way,  the  greater  number  of 
the  corns  on  the  little  toe,  and  the  joint  of  the  large 
toe  are  produced. 

I  do  not  say  that  the  upper  should  be  tight — for  I 
think  it  should  be  loose — but  even  if  it  is  tight  when 
the  boots  are  new,  little  mischief  will  come  of  it,  if  the 
soles  are  sufficiently  broad.  T/ie  great  essential  of  a 
comfortable  shoe  is  a  broad  sole! 

Both  taste  and  comfort  demand  a  reform  in  this  par- 
ticular. Such  a  change  would  afford  a  greater  relief 
than  all  the  other  improvements  which  have  been  pro- 
posed. 


176 


CONSUMPTION. 


In  Fig.  1 ,  the  entire  bottom  of  the  foot  rests  upon 
the  sole,  which  is  as  broad  as  the  foot  when  the  weight 
of  the  body  rests  upon  it. 


Fig.  2. 

In  Fig.  2,  the  sole  is  of  the  fashionable  width,  and 
at  every  step,  the  little  toe  and  the  side  of  the  foot  just 
back  of  it  press  down  over  the  side  of  the  sole  ;  thus 
the  foot  becomes  a  quarter  of  an  inch  broader  than  if 
the  sole  were  as  broad  as  in  Fig.  1 ;  the  little  toe  rubs 
hard  against  the  upper  leather — pain  and  a  corn  are 
the  results.  I  had  a  painful  corn  on  each  little  toe. 
Broad  soles  cured  them. 

The  shoe  ought  to  be  much  straighter  than  the 
present  fashion.  If  you  would  know  how  much, 
mark  the  shape  of  your  foot,  standing  on  the  paper, 
and  compare  the  mark  with  the  sole  of  the  fashionable 


OUR  SHOES.  177 

shoe.  You  will  he  surprised,  as  I  have  been,  that 
anywhere,  outside  of  China,  a  shoemaker  should  sup- 
pose such  a  shaped  shoe  adapted  to  the  human  foot. 

Much  has  been  said  upon  the  shape  of  the  upper 
surface  of  the  sole.  One  party  contends  that  it  should 
be  flat ;  that  the  Creator  intended  the  human  foot  for 
flat  surfaces ;  that  it  was  designed  the  weight  should 
rest  upon  the  heel,  and  the  two  prominent  points  of 
the  ball.  The  other  party  contends,  that  the  surface 
of  the  sole  should  be  a  counterpart  of  the  bottom  of 
the  foot,  fitting  it  like  moist  clay.  A  shoe  with  this 
feature  has  recently  been  patented.  I  have  tried  two 
pairs  on  the  patent  last.  My  wife,  and  several  friends, 
have  tried  the  same.  We  are  more  than  satisfied — we 
are  delighted.  While  I  cannot,  perhaps,  answer  the 
argument  of  those  who  claim  that  the  foot  is  designed  for 
flat  surfaces,  though  the  surface  of  the  earth  is  not  like 
a  house  floor  >  a  very  grateful  experience  leads  me  to 
favor  a  sole  which  is  not  flat.  Being  a  heavy  man, 
and  walking  with  rapidity,  my  feet  did,  at  one  time, 
give  me — during  the  hot  season — much  trouble.  With 
the  patent  sole,  I  can  walk  in  new  boots  all  day,  with- 
out suffering. 

Another  point,  much  discussed,  is  this : — Shall  the 
ankle  be  closely  fitted?  Many  ladies  claim,  such  a 
binding  gives  them  support.  I  need  scarcely  argue 
that  a  ligature  about  the  blood  vessels,  muscles,  and 


178  CONSUMPTION. 

tendons  of  this  Important  part,  must  produce  weak- 
ness. The  congress  boot,  with  its  rubber  elastic,  is 
mischievous.  At  all  seasons  of  the  year,  when  the 
condition  of  the  streets  will  allow  it,  shoes  which  do 
not  come  up  about  the  ankle  are  to  be  preferred ;  per- 
mitting, as  they  do,  the  freest  play  of  the  parts. 
During  the  wet,  muddy,  and  snowy  season  of  the 
year,  I  prefer,  for  many  reasons,  long-legged  boots. 
If  rightly  made,  they  do  not  press  the  ankle. 

What  material  shall  be  used  for  the  uppers  of  shoes  ? 
.For  the  warm  'season,  there  is  no  doubt  about  the 
great  superiority  of  cloth,  particularly  for  the  city. 
Its  porousness  permits  ah  evaporation,  which  cools  the 
feel ;  but,  during  the  cold  and  wet  season,  it  will  not 
eufficc.  For  the  latter  period,  I  think,  for  both  sexes, 
calf  or  kip-skin  is  the  best.  The  upper  leather  should 
be  covered  often  with  a  little  oil  blacking.  Rubbers 
should  be  thrown  overboard.  I  do  not  mean  to  say 
that  they  are  not  an  improvement  upon  the  Morocco 
shoes  which  ladies  might  otherwise  wear ;  but  I  do 
say  that  the  rubber  boot  or  shoe  retains  the  perspira- 
tion, and  produces  a  tenderness  of  the  foot,  which 
greatly  exposes  the  wearer  to  colds.  For  myself,  I 
could  go,  day  after  day,  with  wet  feet,  during  the 
cooler  seasons,  and  speak  every  night,  two  hours,  in  a 
large  hall,  without  hoarseness ;  but  if  I  wear  rubbers 


OUR   SHOES.  179 

for  a  wtek,    my   throat  is  likely  to  become  a  little 
tender. 

The  physiological  principles  I  have  presented,  bear- 
ing on  the  shape  of  the  shoe,  have  been  practically 
recognized  by  the  English,  to  a  greater  extent  than  by 
any  other  people.  The  French  seem  to  have  studied 
how  to  violate  the  anatomy  of  the  foot.  In  America, 
we  have,  unhappily,  copied  the  French.  When  we 
consider  the  importance  of  walking,  in  the  business  of 
life,  and  as  a  means  of  health,  and  of  the  influence  of 
the  circulation  of  the  feet  upon  the  circulation  and 
health  of  other  parts  of  the  body ;  and  when  we  con- 
sider the  dependence  of  the  feet  upon  the  size  and 
shape  of  the  shoes,  both  for  easy  walking  and  good 
circulation,  it  will  not  be  thought  that  I  have  given 
undue  importance  to  the  subject  of  shoes. 

So  long  as  women  walk  on  the  same  earth  and  sit 
in  the  same  rooms  with  men,  they  must  wear  stock- 
ings and  boots  as  thick  and  warm. 

SHOES  FOR  CHILDREN.  Recently,  I  met  a  me- 
chanic, who  resides  in  our  street,  walking  out  on  Sun- 
day morning,  with  his  little  two-year  old  daughter. 
The  father,  I  have  often  admired  for  his  immense  and 
vigorous  physique.  He  had  on  a  pair  of  boots  with 
soles  nearly  an  inch  thick.  The  little  thing  at  hia 
side  wore  a  pair  of  red  slippers,  with  soles  not  thicker 


180  CONSUMPTION. 

than  pasteboard.  "  Why  do  you  wear  those  immense 
boots?  "  I  asked.  "  To  keep  my  throat  and  lungs  all 
right,"  he  replied.  "  Is  your  little  girl  well?  "  "  She 
is  rather  poorly.  The  doctor  says  we  must  take  her 
out  in  the  fresh  air."  "  Do  you  think  you  could  come 
out  this  morning,  on  this  cold,  damp  walk  with  slip- 
pers?" I  asked.  "No,  sir;  it  would  give  me  my 
death."  "How  do  you  think  your  little  delicate 
daughter  can  escape  with  those  thin  morocco  slip- 
pers?" "Well,  it  does  seem  curious;  but  I  don't 
know  much  about  such  things.  You'll  have  to  ask 
the  old  woman." 

The  usual  dress  of  children's  feet,  during  the  cold 
season,  is  a  shameful  violation  of  physiological  law. 

But  in  the  summer  they  should  be  allowed  to  run  in 
the  garden  without  shoes,  and  play,  with  then*  little 
feet  in  loving  contact  with  the  bosom  of  mother  earth. 

TEMPERATURE  or  THE  FEET  AGAIN.  This  sub- 
ject is  so  important  that  I  desire  to  consider  it  in  another 
aspect. 

Congestion  of  the  head,  throat,  or  any  of  the 
organs  of  the  chest  and  abdomen,  is  relieved  by  a 
good  circulation  in  the  feet  and  legs.  Being  far  from 
the  vital  apparatus,  and  thus  liable  to  become  cold, 
they  are,  in  addition,  kept  in  the  coldest  part  of  the 
room.  During  the  cold  season  the  air  at  the  floor  ia 


CUE   SHOES.  181 

from  15  to  20  degrees  colder  than  that  at  the  ceiling. 
The  anxious  mother  shows  her  familiarity  with  this 
fact  when  she  says, — "  Children,  you  must  not  lie  on 
the  floor ;  you  will  catch  cold." 

Notwithstanding  this  marked  difference,  the  feet 
have  less  clothing  than  the  body.  Our  chests  would 
suffer  in  a  cold  day  if  they  had  but  a  single  thickness 
of  cotton  and  one  of  morocco.  Warmth  of  the  lower 
extremities  is  indispensable  to  health  of  the  head  and 
chest.  Cold  bathing,  friction,  stamping,  and  other 
exercises,  with  proper  clothing,  will  generally  secure 
the  needed  temperature  in  these  parts.  But  in  many, 
whose  vitality  is  low,  and  whose  occupation  compels 
long  sitting,  the  feet,  even  with  the  measures  sug- 
gested, will  become  cold.  To  such,  I  advise  the  use 
of  artificial  means.  A  jug  filled  with  warm  water, 
and  placed  under  a  stool  which  is  stuffed  and  carpeted, 
will  diffuse  a  gentle  heat  about  the  feet,  and  secure  a 
temperature  equal  to  that  about  the  head.  It  may  be 
said  that  such  measures  will  produce  susceptibility  to 
cold.  A  hot  water  foot-bath,  and  other  extreme 
measures,  will  produce  such  susceptibility,  but  the 
gentle  warmth  radiated  from  the  jug,  so  far  from  cre- 
ating such  morbid  susceptibility,  will,  by  establishing 
an  habitual  circulation  in  the  feet,  act  as  a  preventive 
of  colds.  A  tin  reservoir,  which  half  a  dollar  will 
purchase,  may  be  fitted  between  the  legs  of  a  stool, 


182  CONSUMPTION. 

* 

and  prove  more  convenient  than  the  jug.  One  of  my 
neighbors  has  patented  such  a  stool,  but  any  tinman, 
can  make,  at  small  expense,  something  which  will 
answer  very  well. 

The  practice  of  compelling  school  children  to  ex- 
change then*  boots  for  slippers,  during  school  hours,  is 
bad.  While  the  silence  thus  secured  is  an  advantage, 
if  the  school-room  be  ventilated  as  a  school-room 
should  be,  the  feet  of  the  pupils  must  become  cold. 
A  strong  carpet  shoe  with  a  thick  felt  sole,  and  com- 
ing well  up  at  the  ankle,  would  prove  highly  satisfac- 
tory. For  such  a  shoe  the  pupil  may  well  exchange 
his  heavy  boots  during  school  hours,  particularly  if  the 
latter  be  kept  in  a  warm  and  dry  place. 


BATHING. 

God  has  given  our  race  few  greater  benefactors  than 
Priessnitz.  He  has  cured  the  world  of  Hydrophobia. 
Others  had  practiced  cold  bathing,  but  in  a  most  im- 
portant sense,  he  is  the  discoverer,  who  has  the  genius 
to  successfully  proclaim  his  knowledge  to  the  world. 

Since  Priessnitz's  advent,  millions  have  found  in  the 
cold  bath  protection  against  those  external  irfluences, 


BATHING.  183 

which  are  the  cause  of  so  much  disease.  No  tonic, 
not  even  quinine  or  iron,  equals  water.  The  skin  suf- 
fers by  seclusion  from  air  and  light.  The  heat,  moist- 
ure, and  darkness,  resulting  from  dress,  produce  in 
the  skin  a  pale  and  delicate  condition.  In  our  climate, 
this  morbid  condition  can  be  removed  by  nothing  so 
successfully  as  by  cold  bathing  and  friction.  The  skin 
is  the  organ  which  we  present  to  the  external  world. 
Whatever  invigorates  it,  whatever  tends  to  make  it 
tough  and  resistant,  protects  us  from  a  multitude  of 
mischievous  influences. 

In  discussing  the  treatment  of  diseases  of  the  lungs, 
these  facts  possess  great  importance.  The  skin  and 
lungs  act  and  re-act  upon  each  other  in  a  remarka- 
ble manner.  Whatever  impresses  one,  either  mis- 
chievously or  happily,  is  immediately  felt  by  the  other. 
In  the  treatment  of  consumption,  the  wise  physician 
gives  the  most  assiduous  attention  to  the  conditions  of 
the  skin,  endeavoring  to  secure  in  it  a  vigorous 
circulation. 

The  importance  of  securing  a  healthy  skin  in  treat- 
ing diseases  of  the  lungs,  is  seen,  in  the  light  of  the 
physiological  fact,  that  it  and  the  lungs  are  the  princi- 
pal excretory  organs  of  the  body.  A  very  large  pro- 
portion of  the  worn-out  matter  in  the  system  is  elimi- 
nated by  these  organs.  If  the  lungs  are  so  con- 
structed, that  they  can,  without  injury,  work  off  a 
17 


184  CONSUMPTION. 

certain  quantity  of  effete  matter,  and,  for  want  of  an 
open  skin,  they  are  compelled  to  excrete  an  increased 
amount,  they  must  suffer.  When  many  of  the  pores 
of  the  skin  become  closed,  and  the  effete  matter  can- 
no!;  find  its  exit  in  that  way,  it  must  in  considerable 
part,  escape  through  the  lungs.  The  effect  upon 
these  organs  I  need  not  discuss. 

In  the  history  of  cold  bathing  there  have  occurred 
many  re-actions.  These  are  inevitable. 

Some  physicians  caution  the  public  against  applying 
water  to  the  body,  lest  the  skin-oil  be  removed. 
They  have  had  no  experience.  We  may  bathe  half-a- 
dozen  times  a  day,  without  depriving  the  skin  of  this 
oil.  Its  frequent  removal  induces  an  increased  se- 
cretion. 

The  public  is  told  that  cold  bathing  depresses  the 
vitality  and  produces  internal  congestions.  If,  in  the 
midst  of  winter,  in  a  cold  room,  a  feeble  person  take 
a  bath  in  freezing  water,  and  stand  exposed  five  min- 
utes, the  desired  re-action  will  come  on  slowly,  and 
thus  the  bath  may  prove  injurious ;  but,  no  matter 
how  low  the  vitality,  though  the  patient  be  within  a 
month  of  the  grave  by  consumption,  if  he  have  such 
facilities  as  will  enable  him  to  apply  the  water  to  his 
entire  body  in  ten  seconds, — and  nothing  is  easier, — 
and  he  rub  the  skin  dry  and  red  in  sixty  seconds, 
there  will  be  no  internal  congestions,  but  an  immedi- 
ate and  grateful  re-action. 


BATHING.  185 

Those  who  have  not  practiced  cold  bathing,  or 
studied  its  philosophy,  say,  "  a  cold  bath  may  be  good 
for  strong  and  fat  people,  but  is  bad  for  thin,  deli- 
cate ones."  Hardy,  fleshy  people  can  go  without 
bathing,  and  not  suffer  serious  consequences  ;  it  is  the 
delicate,  sensitive  ones  who  so  greatly  need  the  protec- 
tion afforded  by  the  cold  bath. 

It  is  often  said,  that  "  a  cold  bath  is  good  in  the 
summer,  but  not  in  winter."  During  the  summer, 
when  we  wear  but  little  clothing,  and  the  air  finds  its 
way  to  the  skin,  and  we  perspire  freely,  we  might  pos- 
sibly dispense  with  the  bath ;  but,  during  the  winter, 
when  the  skin  is  secluded  from  air  by  much  dress,  and 
we  perspire  but  little,  when  the  air  is  cold  and  damp, 
and  we  are  liable  to  take  cold,  then  we  most  need  the 
invigorating  influence  of  the  cold  bath. 

The  public  is  told  to  use  tepid  or  warm  water. 
While  warm  water  and  soap  will  cleanse  the  skin  more 
effectually  than  cold  water,  it  generally  fails  to  pro- 
duce the  same  tonic  effect,  and  is  more  apt  to  leave  a 
susceptibility  to  colds.  During  the  warm  season,  the 
warm  bath  is  often  an  excellent  means  of  relieving 
the  body  from  a  sense  of  heat — on  the  same  principle 
that  cold  bathing  relieves  the  body  of  chilliness. 

There  is  one  kind  of  warm  bath  now  coming  into 
use,  not  open  to  the  objection  of  creating  an  undue 
susceptibility  to  colds  during  cold  weather.  I  refer  to 


186  CONSUMPTION. 

the  hot-air  bath  in  which  no  water  is  used  until  the 
last  moment.  I  take  one  of  these  baths  frequently, 
and  will  describe  it : — You  enter,  nude,  a  well  ven- 
tilated room,  with  a  temperature  from  130  to  150 
degrees.  Sitting  or  reclining,  for  twenty  or  thirty 
minutes,  and  drinking  freely  of  cold  water,  a  profuse 
perspiration  is  established ;  when  you  pass  into  another 
room,  with  a  temperature  of  about  200  degrees,  (for 
myself  I  have  it  250  degrees,)  where  you  remain  fif- 
teen or  twenty  minutes.  Here,  the  perspiration  be- 
comes immense,  dripping  from  every  point.  The  air 
is  so  filled  with  humidity  that  you  feel  no  sense  of  suf- 
focation or  stricture.  Stepping  from  this  to  the  spray 
bath,  cold  water  is  forced  upon  you  from  a  powerful 
force-pump,  in  minute  jets,  producing  a  sensation  as 
if  innumerable  needles  were  penetrating  the  skin, 
when  you  are  gently  wiped.  In  certain  conditions 
this  bath  is  in  valuable.  The  high  temperature  pro- 
duces a  surface  circulation,  which  shields  against  cold 
and  damp.  A  dry  atmosphere,  at  250  degrees,  pro- 
duces a  very  different  effect  upon  the  skin  from  water, 
as  high  as  it  can  be  borne,  which  is  but  little  above 
100  degrees.  This  hot  air  bath — often  improperly 
called  the  Turkish  bath — will  come  into  very  general 
use,  and  contribute  something  to  the  cure  of  diseases 
of  the  lungs. 


BATHING.  187 

THE  HAND  BATH.  The  hand-bath  is,  as  a  general 
and  preventive  measure,  the  most  available  form  of 
cold  bathing.  Procure  a  bathing  mat,  made  for  this 
purpose,  or  make  one,  by  sewing  a  rope  into  the  edge 
of  a  piece  of  rubber-cloth,  which  is  four  or  five  feet 
in  diameter.  Spread  this  on  the  floor  close  by  your 
wash-bowl,  which  should  contain  three  or  four  quarts 
of  water.  Standing  in  the  centre  of  the  mat,  with  an 
old  towel  folded  about  eight  or  ten  inches  square,  or 
with  a  large  sponge,  (the  towel  is  better,)  apply  the 
cold  water  to  the  chest,  back,  and  limbs,  with  great 
rapidity.  Now,  with  several  rough  towels,  which,  if 
convenient,  should  have  been  hung  by  the  fire  during 
the  night,  wipe  the  body  quickly,  and  with  that  vigor 
and  earnestness  which  men  display  in  boxing.  The 
feet  should  receive  hard  friction,  and.  for  a  single 

77  O 

moment,  standing  with  the  balls  upon  a  seam  in  the 
carpet,  turn  the  feet  from  side  to  side  in  a  vigorous 
manner.  Nothing  will  warm  them  quicker,  and  the 
heat  thus  generated  will  continue  for  some  time. 

As  a  remedial  means,  in  many  general  and  local 
maladies,  water,  cold  and  warm,  is  most  happily  em- 
ployed. Among  the  many  modes  of  its  application,  I 
have  used  the  hip  and  foot  baths  with  great  satisfac- 
tion ;  but  I  think  the  hand-bath,  already  discussed,  is 
all  that  should  be  presented  in  a  book  of  this  charac- 
ter. I  may  add,  that,  in  the  treatment  of  some  chest 


188  CONSUMPTION. 

affections,  I  have  employed  a  hydropathic  jacket,  with 
excellent  results. 

In  conclusion,  I  will  introduce  the  remarks  of  the 
eminent  Dr.  J.  C.  Warren,  on  this  subject.  My  first 
impressions  on  the  subject  of  cold  bathing,  were  re- 
ceived from  Dr.  Warren,  while  I  was  a  pupil  in  the 
Medical  Department  of  Harvard.  The  excellent  old 
man  placed  his  hand  on  his  own  cheek,  and  said, — 
' '  You  see  in  this  skin  the  effects  of  a  daily  bath ;  at 
an  age  when  the  face  is  usually  wrinkled  and  rough, 
you  see  my  skin  is  like  that  of  a  child's." 

"  The  application  of  cold  water  to  the  human  body 
is  beneficial  principally  in  two  ways  ;  first,  as  a  puri- 
fier ;  second,  as  a  tonic.  1st,  it  purifies  the  body  by 
removing  from  its  surface  those  excretions,  which  are 
continually  poured  out.  The  skin  is  an  outlet,  by 
which  are  discharged  matters  necessary  to  be  thrown 
out  of  the  system,  for  if  retained,  they  would  produce 
disease.  These  matters  cause  an  incrustation  over  the 
surface  of  the  skin,  and  this,  to  a  certain  extent,  ob- 
structs the  little  orifices,  through  which  these  exhala- 
tions take  place.  Physicians  and  surgeons  are  in  the 
habit  of  observing  deplorable  instances  of  filthy  con- 
cretions on  the  skin  of  poor  patients,  and  this  kind  of 
neglect,  unfortunately,  is  not  confined  to  the  lower 
class. 


BATHING.  189 

"  Besides  these  exhalations,  the  surface  of  the  skin 
becomes  more  or  less  charged  with  cuticular  exfolia- 
tions, which  ought  to  be  removed  daily.  The  linen 
taken  from  the  body  of  a  poor  person,  is  sometimes 
seen  to  shed  a  shower  of  flakes  of  separated  cuticle. 
The  regular  removal  of  these  substances  not  only  gives 
a  more  free  outlet  to  cutaneous  exhalation,  but  the  act 
by  which  they  are  removed  also  serves  to  promote  the 
healthy  action  of  the  capillary  vessels  of  this  organ. 

"  2d.  The  effect  of  cold  water  as  a  tonic  is  well 
known.  The  refreshing  influence  of.  water  applied  to 
the  face,  neck,  hands,  and  arms,  is  a  matter  of  general 
experience.  The  operation  of  cold  water,  applied  to 
the  whole  surface  of  the  body,  is  to  produce  an  agreea- 
ble and  refreshing  sensation.  This  is  followed  by  a 
glow  more  or  less  considerable,  depending  partly  upon 
the  difference  between  the  temperature  of  the  water 
and  that  of  the  body,  and  partly  on  the  state  of  the 
body  itself,  to  which  the  application  is  made.  Immer- 
sion of  the  hand,  or  any  other  part  of  the  body,  in  cold 
weather  in  tepid  water,  is  followed  by  a  sense  of  chilli- 
ness, while  immersion  of  the  same  part,  for  a  limited 
time,  in  iced  water,  is  followed  by  a  sensation  of  posi- 
tive heat.  Immersion  of  a  part,  or  the  whole  of  the 
body  in  cold  water,  causes  an  increase  of  vigor.  This 
?a  particularly  obvious  in  hot  weather.  When  one, 
who  is  exhausted  with  heat  and  fatigue,  plunges  into 


190  CONSUMPTION. 

cold  water,  or  receives  the  affusion  of  it  over  the 
whole  surface  of  the  body,  the  languid  frame  is  imme- 
diately invigorated  and  prepared  for  new  labors.  This 
change  is  probably  attributable  to  a  uniform  contrac- 
tion of  the  small  vessels,  and  a  more  regular  flow  of 
blood  through  the  relaxed  organs,  thus  reviving  their 
vigor. 

"  In  the  same  way  congestions,  by  which  the  vital 
actions  are  impeded,  are  removed,  and  this  not  only  in 
the  external  or  cutaneous  portion  of  the  body,  but  also 
by  the  reflex  nervous  action  of  Dr.  Marshall  Hall,  or 
sympathy,  as  it  has  been  formerly  called,  in  the  great 
central  organs,  the  heart,  lungs,  stomach,  and  intes- 
tines. Thus  a  great  many  diseases  may  be  removed 
in  the  incipient  stage ;  for  vascular  congestions,  or 
accumulations  of  blood  in  particular  vessels,  by  which 
the  circulation  is  obstructed,  constitute  the  origin  of  a 
great  number  of  diseases.  All  those  who  have  been  in 
the  habit  of  using  cold  water  know,  that  an  incipient 
catarrhal  affection  often  disappears  on  its  judicious  ap- 
plication to  the  surface  of  the  body.  This  disease  is  a 
congestion  of  the  blood  in  the  vessels  of  the  membrane 
lining  the  nostrils,  trachea,  and  lungs,  arising,  in  this 
instance,  from  the  application  of  cold  air  to  the  surface 
of  the  body.  When  cold  water  is  applied  to  the  skin 
it  produces  increased  circulation  in  this  part,  and  the 
blood  is  thus  diverted  from  the  internal  organs.  A 


BATHING.  191 

similar  train  of  occurrences  takes  place  in  the  germina- 
tion of  many  diseases.  The  effect  of  the  judicious  ap- 
plication of  cold  water  to  the  surface  of  the  body  is, 
therefore,  to  relieve  temporary  languor,  remove  incipi- 
ent disease,  and  give  permanent  tone  to  the  animal 
system." 

THE  WARM  BATH.  Dr.  Johnson  says  ; — "As  the 
first  instance  of  cold  bathing,  as  a  remedy,  was  that  of 
Melampus  bathing  the  daughter  of  the  king  of  Argos  ; 
so  Medea's  cauldron  is  supposed  to  be  the  first  record 
of  the  warm  bath.  From  the  derivation  of  the  word, 
*  care-destroyer,'  and  the  fabulous  stories  of  old  age 
restored  to  youth  by  the  effects  of  Medea's  boiler,  we 
may  suppose  that  the  warm  bath  was  highly  appre- 
ciated in  ancient  times." 

Dr.  Cornell  remarks: — "I  have  no  doubt  that  a 
general  use  of  the  warm  bath  in  our  country  would 
produce  the  most  salutary  effects  upon  the  health  and 
longevity  of  its  inhabitants.  The  time  will  come  when 
a  change  '  so  devoutly  to  be  wished '  will  take  place, 
and  the  bath  be  generally  used.  There  are,  at  present, 
many  objections  which  are  utterly  unfounded,  but 
which  must,  nevertheless,  be  removed,  before  this  de- 
sirable era  will  dawn  upon  us  with  its  blessings. 

"  To  those  who  are  not  specially  diseased,  it  is /me 


192  CONSUMPTION. 

of  the  greatest  luxuries  of  life,  and,  as  such,  it  has 
ever  been  esteemed  in  the  Eastern  world.  Homer 
tells  us  that  Ulysses  refreshed  himself  with  the  warm 
bath  when  he  returned  home  from  his  toils  and 
wars.  It  may  be  administered  at  any  time,  but  pro- 
motes perspiration  the  most  when  taken  in  the  even- 
ing. It  may  be  taken  to  good  advantage,  when  the 
person  can  retire  immediately  after  it  to  bed.  I  think 
this  the  best  time  to  receive  the  warm  bath.  If  it  be 
taken  at  any  hour  of  the  day,  it  should  be  followed  by 
gentle  exercise  for  an  hour  or  more.  There  are 
various  kinds  of  baths  now  administered,  such  as  the 
Russian  vapor,  medicated,  sulphur,  iodine,  &c.  All 
these,  when  judiciously  and  properly  used,  may  be 
serviceable,  and  worthy  the  attention  of  the  valetudina- 
rian or  invalid. 

"  Every  person  must  see  the  great  utility  of  purify- 
ing the  skin,  when  the  amount  of  perspirable  matter 
which  passes  through  its  pores  is  duly  understood,  and 
the  sympathy  between  that  and  the  internal  viscera  fully 
appreciated.  This  sympathy  has  been  glanced  at  in 
the  former  part  of  this  essay.  Lavoisier,  a  celebrated 
French  chemist,  and  many  others,  have  estimated  the 
exhalations  from  the  skin  alone  to  be  about  two  thirds 
of  the  whole  amount  of  meats  and  drinks  taken  into 
the  system.  How  powerful,  then,  must  be  the  free 
perspiration  from  this  covering  of  the  body,  to  preserve 


BATHING.  193 

the  whole  internal  structure  in  health ;  and  what  a 
potent  energy  is  it  capable  of  exerting  in  relieving  dis- 
ease and  restoring  the  deranged  and  disordered  func- 
tions of  the  whole  animal  economy  !  " 

The  vapor  bath  is  spoken  of  in  the  following 
language  by  Dr.  Erasmus  Wilson,  in  his  treatise  on 
A  Healthy  Skin  : — 

'  *  The  vapor  bath  offers  some  points  of  difference 
from  the  preceding,  in  the  circumstance  of  extending 
its  influence  to  the  interior  as  well  as  to  the  exterior 
of  the  body.  The  bather  is  seated  upon  a  chair,  in  a 
position  agreeable  to  himself,  and  the  vapor  is  gradu- 
ally turned  on  around  him,  until  the  requisite  tempera- 
ture (from  ninety  to  one  hundred  and  ten  degrees)  is 
attained.  The  vapor  is  consequently  breathed,  and 
thus  brought  into  contact  with  every  part  of  the  inte- 
rior of  the  lungs.  The  vapor  bath  has  undergone 
much  improvement  within  the  last  few  years,  and  its 
powers  as  an  agent  for  the  cure  of  disease  have  been 
increased  by  the  discovery  of  various  vegetable  sub- 
stances, whose  volatile  elements  are  susceptible  of 
being  diffused  through  the  vapor,  and,  thus  introduced 
into  the  blood,  are  made  to  act  upon  the  system. 

"  Bathing  and  exercise  are  very  closely  allied  to 
each  other — they  both  stimulate  the  actions  of  the 
17 


194  CONSUMPTION. 

skin,  and  both,  if  carried  too  far,  are  productive  of 
fatigue.  Bathing,  again,  is  indebted  to  exercise  for 
some  of  its  useful  properties.  In  like  manner,  the 
rules  of  bathing  and  those  of  exercise  are  very  similar. 
Bathing,  to  be  efficient  in  preserving  health,  should  be 
regular,  should  be  commenced  by  degrees,  and  in- 
creased by  a  process  of  training,  and  should  not  be 
permitted  to  intrude  upon  hours  devoted  to  some  im- 
portant function,  such  as  digestion.  It  must  not 
approach  too  near  a  meal,  that  is  to  say,  if  it  be 
attended  with  the  least  fatigue ;  nor  must  it  follow  a 
meal  too  closely,  three  or  four  hours  being  permitted 
to  elapse.  The  time  occupied  in  bathing  in  cold  water 
by  invalids  should  not  exceed  a  few  minutes,  ranging, 
perhaps,  from  two  to  ten ;  but  persons  in  health  may 
carry  it  to  the  point  of  satiety,  provided  always  that 
they  combine  with  it  active  exercise.  The  period  for 
the  tepid,  warm,  or  vapor  bath,  is  from  a  quarter  to 
half  an  hour,  unless  special  indications  require  to  be 
fulfilled. 

"  Another  curious  and  important  law  is  associated 
with  the  influence  exerted  by  the  bath  over  the  state 
of  the  pulse,  which  is,  a  power  of  absorption  by  the 
skin  below  the  neutral  range,  and  an  augmented  trans- 
piration above  it.  The  absorbing  power  is  modified 
by  various  circumstances,  such  as  the  quantity  of  fluids 
already  contained  within  the  tissues  of  the  bather,  the 


BATHING.  195 

state  of  the  body  in  relation  to  food,  activity  of  nutri- 
tion, &c.  In  this  sense,  medicated  baths  have  the 
power  of  acting  upon  the  system.  The  process  is, 
however,  slow,  and  requires  long  immersion  when  the 
water  bath  is  used,  but  is  more  active  with  the  vapor 
bath. 

"  The  vapor  bath  is  calculated  to  be  extensively 
useful,  both  as  a  preservative  and  as  a  remedial  agent. 
Many  a  cold  and  many  a  rheumatic  attack,  arising 
from  checked  perspiration  or  long  exposure  to  the 
weather,  might  be  nipped  in  the  bud  by  its  timely  use. 
In  chronic  affections,  not  only  of  the  skin  itself,  but 
of  the  internal  organs,  with  which  the  skin  most  closely 
sympathizes,  as  the  stomach  and  intestines,  the  judi- 
cious application  of  the  vapor  bath  is  productive  of 
great  relief.  Even  in  chronic  pulmonary  complaints, 
it  is,  according  to  the  Continental  physicians,  not  only 
safe,  but  very  serviceable,  particularly  in  those  affec- 
tions of  the  mucous  membrane  which  resemble  con- 
sumption in  so  many  of  their  symptoms.  Like  all 
powerful  remedies,  however,  the  vapor  bath  must  be 
administered  with  proper  regard  to  the  condition  and 
circumstances  of  the  individual ;  and  care  must  be 
taken  to  have  the  feet  sufficiently  warm  during  its  use. 
If,  from  an  irregular  distribution  of  the  steam,  the  feet 
be  left  cold,  headache  and  flushing  are  almost  sure 
to  follow.  If  one-tenth  of  the  persevering  attention 


196  CONSUMPTION. 

and  labor  bestowed  to  so  much  purpose  in  rubbing 
and  currying  the  skins  of  horses,  were  bestowed  by 
the  human  race  in  keeping  themselves  in  good  condi- 
tion, and  a  little  attention  were  paid  to  diet  and 
clothing;  colds,  nervous  diseases  and  stomach  com 
plaints  would  cease  to  form  so  large  an  item  in  the 
catalogue  of  human  miseries." 


OCCUPATIONS. 

The  indifference  of  parents  to  the  healthfulness  of 
the  trades  or  occupations  selected  for  their  children 
is  a  matter  of  constant  surprise  and  grief  to  me. 
Parents  of  consumptive  taint,  whose  children  are 
scrofulous,  ordinarily  make  no  objection  to  the  son 
becoming  a  clergyman,  watch-maker,  tailor,  account- 
ant, or  lawyer.  The  discriminating  medical  man 
can  clearly  foresee  a  long  and  miserable  struggle 
with  disease  and  death,  with  the  grief  and  worse  than 
death-struggles  of  a  helpless  family;  but  if  the  boy 
fancies  one  of  these  occupations,  the  father  says,  "I 
don't  believe  in  forcing  children  in  this  thing;  it  is 
a  matter  in  which  they  are  most  interested,  and  they 
should  choose  for  themselves." 


OCCUPATION.  197 

This  is  specious  and  seems  very  fatherly,  but 
nothing  is  more  thoughtless  and  cruel.  What  is  it, 
pray,  that  generally  awakens  a  hoy's  fancy  for  this 
or  that  trade?  Is  it  not  that  he  has  happened  to 
visit  a  shop  or  factory  where  said  trade  is  being  car- 
ried on,  and  is  pleased  with  what  he  sees?  When  I 
was  a  boy,  I  went  to  a  tin-shop  to  get  a  dipper  re- 
paired, and  was  so  delighted  with  what  I  saw,  that 
I  scarcely  slept  for  a  week.  I  was  burning  to 
become  a  tinman.  Now  between  you  and  me,  I 
don't  think  I  should  have  made  a  good  tinker ;  but 
I  should  certainly  have  become  one,  but  for  the 
firmness  of  my  parents,  who  had  other  purposes  in 
my  behalf.  I  do  not  believe  that  one  boy  in  five 
has  a  whit  better  reason  for  selecting  this  or  that 
occupation,  than  I  had  for  choosing  to  become  a  tin- 
man. A  consumptive  boy  has  a  very  dear  friend, 
who  is  engaged  in  repairing  watches.  Our  boy  often 
sits  by  his  friend,  and  becomes  very  much  interested 
in  the  delicate  operations  of  this  occupation.  His 
friend  urges  him  to  come  and  work  by  his  side. 
When  the  day  arrives  on  which  he  is  to  leave  school 
and  enter  upon  an  occupation  for  life,  he  goes  at 
once  to  the  watch-shop  ;  his  parents  comforting  them- 
selves with  the  reflection  that  they  have  allowed  their 
son  to  follow  his  natural  bent.  The  boy  lives  long 
enough  to  become  a  man,  —  a  married  man  —  and 


198  CONSUMPTION. 

then  dies,  leaving  two  or  three  children  to  struggle 
through  life  in  the  same  blindness  and  pain. 

Suppose  it  is  his  "natural  bent,"  but  that  the  bus- 
iness will  probably  lead  to  all  the  mischief  I  have 
indicated ;  clearly  it  is  the  duty  of  the  parent  to  see 
that  his  son  does  not  thus  deliberately  sacrifice  him- 
self. 

If  my  son  were  consumptive,  I  would  oppose  his 
adoption  of  any  one  of  certain  occupations,  no  mat- 
ter how  strong  might  be  his  passion,  for  the  same 
reason  that  I  would  oppose  his  adoption  of  the  legal 
profession,  if  he  were  naturally  scheming  and  money- 
loving,  no  matter  how  strong  might  be  his  bent  for 
the  law ;  just  as  I  would  oppose  his  adoption  of  the 
banker's  or  merchant's  occupation,  if  he  were  naturally 
dishonest. 

If  our  boy  had,  under  the  guidance  of  a  wise  phy- 
sician, devoted  his  life  to  agriculture,  or  to  any  other 
active  and  out-door  employment,  he  might  have  lived 
a  long,  healthy,  useful  and  happy  life,  and  left  behind 
him  a  healthy,  long-lived  family. 

Is  this  an  extraordinary  case?  I  think  the  ma- 
jority of  selections  is  not  more  discriminating.  Thou- 
sands are  sacrificed  every  year  in  the  most  lingering 
and  painful  way,  under  this  strange  hallucination  of 
allowing  children  to  select  their  own  professions  or 
trades. 


OCCUPATION.  199 

I  am  acquainted  in  a  small  town  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  where  the  principal  business  is  glass- 
blowing.  This  trade  is,  in  almost  every  possible 
aspect,  a  most  undesirable  one ;  and  yet  the  Super- 
intendent assured  me  that  so  strong  was  the  pen- 
chant for  the  business  among  the  boys  of  the  village, 
that  he  hardly  knew  one  who  would  not  eagerly 
embrace  an  opportunity  to  become  an  apprentice  in 
the  factory.  Clearly,  here  is  a  case  of  what  is  pop- 
ularly known  as  a  "  natural  bent "  for  a  certain 
occupation.  Is  it  not  remarkable  that  it  happens  to 
possess  all  the  boys  of  that  particular  village? 

In  order  to  make  the  selection  by  the  boy  a  reli- 
able indication  of  his  natural  genius,  he  must  have 
/in  opportunity  to  see,  under  equally  favorable  cir- 
cumstances, a  great  variety  of  trades,  and  hear,  from 
his  father,  or  some  other  reliable  friend,  a  full  ex- 
planation of  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of 
each,  with  reference  to  physical,  intellectual,  social, 
moral  and  religious  tendencies  and  effects.  Then,  if 
an  average  boy,  his  selection  may  be  trusted. 

Obviously  his  choice  is  usually  the  accident  of 
an  accident,  and  should  not  be  regarded  any  more 
than  his  fancy  for  a  hundred  other  things,  which  we 
do  not  hesitate  to  deny  him. 

I  do  not  mean  that  children  should  have  nothing 
to  say  about  their  future  lives,  but  I  do  believe  that 


200  CONSUMPTION. 

the  experience  and  wisdom  of  the  parents  are  designed 
to  serve  the  child  —  to  guard,  guide  and  protect  it. 
If  the  parent  does  not  guide  his  child  in  the  selection 
of  his  occupation  —  the  most  important  of  all  steps  in 
human  life  —  I  cannot  conceive  in  what  case  the  pa- 
rental responsibility  should  be  exercised. 

I  hear  it  said,  if  the  boy  is  not  allowed  a  free  choice, 
he  will  never  be  satisfied.  But  who  does  not  know 
that  when  the  boy  does  select  his  own  trade,  that,  in 
perhaps  a  majority  of  instances,  he  is  dissatisfied,  not 
to  say  disgusted,  with  the  choice  he  has  made.  If  the 
child  be  clearly  shown  by  a  proper  parent  that  a  cer- 
tain trade  would  probably  lead  to  disease  and  prema- 
ture death,  there  would  be  little  danger  of  the  grave 
mistake  we  are  considering. 

There  is  a  wonderful  significance  in  that  phrase, 
"  the  right  man  in  the  right  place." 

Last  summer  I  was  riding  through  an  agricultural 
district  in  an  adjoining  State.  In  a  field  by  the  road- 
side I  saw  a  farmer  ploughing  with  a  pair  of  bright, 
active  horses.  I  stopped  to  admire  his  team.  He 
told  me  "  they  could  do  it,  together,  inside  of  2.55." 
While  we  were  chatting,  a  doctor  came  along  with  a 
1200  Ib.  clumsy  horse,  —  a  splendid  animal  he1  as- 
sured us,  had  drawn  a  ton  up  a  steep  hill  —  but  he 
confessed  it  took  a  good  deal  of  whip  to  get  him  along 
seven  miles  an  hour.  Now  if  this  strong  plough-horse 


OCCUPATION.  201 

could  have  been  transferred  to  the  plough,  and  one  of 
those  nervous,  active  little  fellows  over  the  fence  could 
have  been  put  to  the  carriage,  it  would  have  been  all 
right. 

The  same  mistakes  we  find  among  men  —  little, 
active,  bright  fellows  plodding  in  a  ditch,  while  great, 
bony,  muscular,  sleepy  clowns  are  stumbling  and 
blundering  along  as  doctors  or  preachers. 

But  to  return  to  occupation  as  bearing  on  consump- 
tion. I  have  long  entertained  the  conviction  that  our 
bills  of  mortality  from  this  dreaded  malady  would  be 
greatly  reduced  by  a  wise  selection  of  occupations. 

Those  occupations  which  compel  the  workers  to 
remain  within  doors,  and  out  of  the  sunshine,  those 
which  render  complete  ventilation  difficult,  those  which 
compel  a  stooping  attitude,  those  which  compel  the 
workers  to  remain  long  in  one  position  without  motion, 
or  actual  exercise,  those  in  which  dust  or  vapors  of 
any  kind  are  breathed,  are  all  to  be  avoided  by  all 
persons,  of  either  sex,  who  have  tendency  to  con- 
sumption. 

A  farmer  has  four  sons  —  two  robust  and  two  deli- 
cate ones.  He  divides  his  farm  between  the  two  strong 
boys,  and  consents  to  the  banishment  of  the  two  delicate 
sons  from  the  fresh  air  and  sunshine,  by  making  one 
an  engraver,  and  the  other  a  clergyman.  The  same 
blunder  is  often  made  by  heads  of  families. 


202  CONSUMPTION. 


SUNSHINE. 

Seclusion  from  sunshine  is  one  of  the  misfortunes  of 
mr  civilized  life.  The  same  cause  which  makes  potato 
nnes  white  and  sickly,  when  grown  in  dark  cellars, 
operates  to  produce  the  pale,  sickly  girls  that  are 
reared  in  our  parlors.  Expose  either  to  the  direct 
rays  of  the  sun,  and  they  begin  to  show  color,  health, 
acd  strength. 

One  of  the  ablest  lawyers  in  our  country, — a  victim 
of  long  and  hard  brain-labor,  came  to  me  a  year  ago, 
su  llering  with  partial  paralysis.  The  right  leg  and  hip 
wejx  reduced  in  size,  with  constant  pain  in  the  loins. 
He  Wxd  obliged,  in  coming  up  stairs,  to  raise  the  left 
foot  first,  on  every  stair,  dragging  the  right  one  after 
it.  Palo,  feeble,  miserable,  he  told  me  he  had  been 
failing  several  years,  and  closed  with,  "  My  work  is 
done.  At  sixty,  I  find  myself  worn  out." 

I  directed  him  to  lie  down  under  a  large  window, 
and  allow  the  sun  to  fall  upon  every  part  of  his  body ; 
at  first,  ten  minutes  a  day,  increasing  the  time  until  he 
could  expose  himself  to  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  a 
full  hour.  His  habits  were  not  essentially  altered  in 
any  other  particular.  In  six  months,  he  came  run- 
ning up  stairs  like  a  vigorous  man  of  forty,  and 


SUNSHINE.  203 

declared,  with  sparkling  eyes,  "  I  have  twenty  years 
more  of  work  in  me." 

I  have  assisted  man)'  dyspeptic,  neuralgic,  rheum- 
atic, and  hypochondriacal  people  into  health,  by  the 
SUN-CURE.  I  have  so  many  facts  illustrating  the 
wonderful  power  of  the  sun's  direct  rays  in  curing 
certain  classes  of  invalids,  that  I  have  seriously 
thought  of  publishing  a  work,  to  be  denominated  the 
"  SUN-CURE." 

I  take  the  liberty  of  introducing  another  case, 
which  greatly  impressed  my  mind  at  the  time. 

Many  years  ago,  a  clergyman  who  had  for  years 
been  a  victim  of  dyspepsia,  and  who  had  prayed  for 
death,  as  the  only  door  of  escape,  came,  through  the 
advice  of  a  mutual  friend,  "to  consult  me.  I  advised 
the  disuse  of  all  medicines,  the  generous  use  of 
cracked  wheat,  good  beef,  and  much  exposure  to 
sunshine.  To  secure  the  last-mentioned  influence,  I 
directed  him  to  enclose  twenty  feet  square  in  his  gar- 
den with  a  close  fence,  and  plant  the  ground  within 
with  something,  the  cultivation  of  which  would  occu- 
py his  mind.  Then,  when  the  weather  was  warm, 
shutting  himself  in,  he  was  to  busy  himself,  quite  nude, 
with  the  cultivation  of  his  vegetables,  from  ten  to 
sixty  minutes  a  day,  always  indulging  in  a  thorough 
bath  and  friction  before  leaving.  He  was  radically 
cured. 


204  CONSUMPTION. 

I  was  practicing  my  profession  in  Buffalo,  New 
York,  during  '49  and  '51,  those  memorable  cholera 
seasons.  I  saw  at  least  five  cases  of  cholera  on  the 
shady  side  of  the  street  and  houses,  to  one  on  the 
sunny  side.  One  eminent  physician  in  New  Orleans 
reports  from  his  own  practice,  eight  cases  of  ydlmu 
fever  on  the  shady  side  of  the  street,  to  one  on  the 
sunny  side. 

Who  has  not  read  Florence  Nightingale's  observa- 
tions in  the  Crimea,  showing  the  difference  between 
the  shady  and  the  sunny  sides  of  the  hospitals  ?  In 
St.  Petersburg  the  shady  side  of  the  hospitals  was 
so  notoriously  unfavorable  to  the  sick  soldier  that  the 
Czar  decreed  them  into  disuse. 

The  shade-trees  about  our  dwellings  have  done 
much  to  make  our  wives  and  daughters  pale,  feeble, 
and  neuralgic.  Trees  ought  never  to  stand  near 
enough  to  a  dwelling  to  cast  their  shade  upon  it; 
and  if  the  blinds  were  removed,  and  nothing  but  a 
curtain  within,  with  which  to  lessen,  on  the  hottest 
days,  the  intensity  of  the  heat,  it  would  add  greatly  to 
the  tone  of  our  nerves  and  to  our  general  vigor.  The 
piazzas  which  project  over  the  lower  story,  always 
make  that  less  healthy  than  the  upper  story,  especially 
for  sleeping  purposes.  I  am  sure  I  have  cured  a 
great  many  cases  of  rheumatism  by  advising  patients 
to  leave  bed  rooms  shaded  by  trees  or  piazzas,  and 


THE    BEST   BED.  205 

sleep  in  a  room  and  bed  which  were  constantly  dried 
and  purified  by  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun. 


THE    BEST    BED. 

Of  the  seven  pounds  which  a  man  eats  and  drinks  in 
a  day,  it  is  thought  that  not  less  than  two  pounds 
leave  his  body  through  the  skin.  And  of  these  two 
pounds  a  considerable  percentage  escapes  during  the 
night,  while  he  is  in  bed.  The  larger  part  of  this  is 
water,  but  in  addition  there  is  much  effete  and  poison- 
ous matter.  This  being  in  great  part  gaseous  in  form, 
permeates  every  part  of  the  bed.  Thus,  all  parts  of  the 
bed,  mattress,  blankets,  as  well  as  stieets,  soon  become 
foul  and  need  purification. 

The  mattress  needs  this  renovation  quite  as  much  as 
the  sheets.  To  allow  the  sheets  to  be  used  without 
washing  or  changing,  three  or  six  months,  would  be 
regarded  as  bad  house-keeping ;  but  I  insist,  if  a  thin 
sheet  can  absorb  enough  of  the  poisonous  excretions  of 
the  body  to  make  it  unfit  for  use  in  a  few  days,  a  thick 
mattress,  which  can  absorb  and  retain  a  thousand 
times  as  much  of  these  poisonous  excretions,  needs  to 
18 


206  CONSUMPTION. 

be  purified    aa    often,    certainly,    as    once    in    three 
months. 

A  sheet  can  be  washed.  A  mattress  cannot  be 
renovated  in  this  way.  Indeed,  there  is  no  other  way 
of  cleansing  a  mattress  but  by  steaming  it,  or  picking 
it  to  pieces,  and  thus,  in  fragments,  exposing  it  to  the 
direct  rays  of  the  sun.  As  these  processes  are  scarcely 
practicable  with  any  of  the  ordinary  mattresses,  I  am 
decidedly  of  the  opinion,  that  the  good  old-fashioned 
straw  bed,  which  can,  every  three  months,  be  changed 
for  fresh  straw,  and  the  tick  washed,  is  the  sweetest 
and  healthiest  of  beds. 

If,  in  the  winter  season,  the  porousness  of  the  straw 
bed  makes  it  a  little  uncomfortable,  spread  over  it  a 
comforter,  or  two  woollen  blankets,  which  should  be 
washed  as  often  as  every  two  weeks.  With  this 
arrangement,  if  you  wash  all  the  bed  covering  as  often 
as  once  in  two  or  three  weeks,  you  will  have  a  pleasant 
healthy  bed. 

Now  if  you  leave  the  bed  to  air,  with  open  windows, 
during  the  day,  and  not  make  it  up  for  the  night  before 
evening,  you  will  liave  added  greatly  to  the  sweetness 
of  your  rest,  and,  in  consequence,  to  the  tone  of  your 
health. 

I  heartily  wish  this  good  change  could  be  every- 
where introduced.  Only  those  who  have  thus  attended 


OUR   HAIE.  207 

to  this  important  matter,  can  judge  of  its  influence  on 
the  general  health  and  spirits. 


OUE    HAIR. 

The  management  of  our  hair  has  much  to  do  with 
the  health  of  the  respiratory  apparatus.  Cutting  it 
short  behind,  and  thus  exposing  the  upper  part  of  the 
epine  to  the  changes  of  the  atmosphere,  exerts  an  in- 
jurious influence  upon  the  larynx  and  its  contained 
vocal  apparatus.  The  present  fashion  among  women, 
of  hanging  the  hair  in  a  net  on  the  back  of  the  neck,  is 
not  only  physiological,  but,  in  my  opinion,  in  excellent 
taste. 

Shaving  off  the  beard  exposes  the  larynx  and  tra- 
chea. If  it  be  asked  why  man  needs  this  protection 
more  than  women,  I  reply,  that  the  larynx,  which,  in 
women,  is  buried  in  and  surrounded  by  the  soft  parts, 
is  in  man,  prominent  and  exposed ;  and  if  the  neck  be 
nude,  greatly  exposed  to  atmospheric  influences.  But 
a  better  reason  is  this  : — God  contrived  the  beard  for 
man's  neck.  It  is  His  plan  that  man  should  wear  this 
protection  over  the  throat.  In  the  light  of  this  evident 
purpose  of  the  Creator,  I  think  any  elaborate  argu- 


208  CONSUMPTION. 

ment  is  in  bad  taste.     I  may  add,  however,  that  shav 
ing  the  upper  lip  is  now  well  known  to  affect  the  eyes 
prejudicially. 


POSITION. 

In  its  relation  to  the  health  of  the  chest  organs,  this 
is  an  important  subject.  The  throat  and  lungs  are 
prejudicially  affected  by  drooping  shoulders.  If  you 
repeat  a  poem,  with  the  head  and  shoulders  well 
drawn  back,  and  again  with  the  head  and  shoulders 
drooping,  even  one  who  has  given  no  attention  to  the 
subject  will,  at  once,  detect  a  marked  difference  in  the 
character  of  the  voice.  All  advantageous  exercise  of 
the  vocal  organs,  involves  spinal  erectitude.  What  is 
true  in  this  respect  of  the  vocal  apparatus  in  the 
throat,  is  still  more  marked-  in  its  application  to  the 
muscles  of  respiration.  When  the  shoulders  fall 
forward,  even  slightly,  the  combination  of  muscular 
action  involved  in  the  processes  of  inspiration  and 
expiration,  is  changed. 

To  illustrate,  let  me  speak  of  false  positions  seen  in 
our  schools.  The  desks  are  so  constructed  that  the 
pupil  must  stoop ;  it  is  indispensable  that  the  line  of 


POSITION.  209 

vision  should  form  nearly  a  right  angle  with  the  sur- 
face of  the  book ;  but  the  page,  as  it  lies  upon  the 
desk,  is  nearly  horizontal ;  of  course  the  face  must  be 
held  nearly  horizontal.  This  involves  a  serious  de- 
parture from  the  normal  attitude,  in  which  the  face  is 
nearly  perpendicular.  The  pupil  may  often  be  ob- 
served, in  the  attempt  to  overcome  this  difficulty,  by 
placing  something  under  the  upper  end  of  his  book. 
When  the  pupil  is  using  an  atlas  or  slate,  the  evil 
becomes  still  greater,  for,  not  only  must  he  hold  his 
face  nearly  parallel  with  the  surface  of  the  atlas,  to 
see  the  part  nearest  him,  but  when  he  would  look  at 
the  farthest  part  of  the  page,  he  must  carry  his  head  a 
foot  farther  forward,  involving  a  serious  bending  of 
his  body. 

As  a  teacher  of  gymnastics,  I  have  been  deeply 
concerned  about  this  false  position  of  the  pupil.  I 
have  seen  that  all  my  attempts  to  cultivate  an  erect 
position  in  my  pupils,  by  a  half  hour's  gymnastic 
training  daily,  when,  during  four  or  five  hours,  they 
were  sitting  in  this  bent  attitude,  must  prove  a 
failure. 

Within  the  last  six  years  I  have  devised  several 
means  of  overcoming  the  difficulty.  One  of  these 
was  discussed  in  a  former  work, — the  "  New  Gym- 
nastics for  Men,  Women,  and  Children."  Within  the 
last  two  years  I  have  invented  and  patented  a  book- 
18* 


210  CONSUMPTION. 

holder  which  is,  we  all  think,  the  long-sought-for  cure. 


Fig.  1. 

It  is  seen  in  Fig.  1.  The  ladder,  which  is  very 
strong,  is  sustained  in  position  by  a  wire  pall  and 
strap,  with  hook,  by  which  it  may  be  made  more  or 
less  oblique  at  pleasure.  The  finger  bars  hook  on  to 
the  cross  rounds,  at  any  desired  height.  One  or  two 
books  may  be  used.  The  fingers  hold  the  books  open. 
There  is  no  hinge,  the  wire  pall  simply  entering  small 
holes  in  the  side  rounds.  No  device  is  less  liable  to 
get  out  of  repair. 

Fig.  2  shows  the  book-holder  when  supporting  two 
books.  The  classical  student  finds  in  this  invention 
the  means  of  holding  his  reader  and  lexicon  before  his 
face,  allowing  liim  to  rest  against  the  chair-back. 


POSITION. 


211 


Fig.  S. 


Fig.  3  shows  the  position  of  the  student  when  using 
the  holder.  Wherever  introduced,  it  has  given  com- 
plete satisfaction. 


CONSUMPTION. 


N.  T.  Allen,  Esq.,  principal  'of  the  large  English 
and  classical  school  at  West  Newton,  Mass.,  writes: 

"  The  student's  book-holder,  invented  by  Dr.  Dio 
Lewis  is  in  use  on  the  ninety-six  desks  in  my  principal 
school-room.  Stooping  over  the  desk,  which  has 
heretofore  proved  a  great  evil  in  its  influence  upon 
the  form  and  health  of  the  pupil,  is  by  this  simple 
device  rendered  almost  impossible.  It  is  a  benificent 
invention  which  every  true  educator  will  desire  to  see 
universally  introduced." 

I  could  introduce  numberless  testimonies  of  a  simi- 
lar character. 

The  new  book-holder  has  found  its  way  to  every 
part  of  the  Northern  States,  to  the  Pacific  coast,  and 
to  England. 

It  will  prove  invaluable  to  all  classes  of  readers. 
The  clergyman,  for  example,  may  use  two  or  three  of 
them  upon  his  table,  holding  twice  as  many  books, 
and  he  may  place  them  about  him  in  a  semi-circle,  so 
that  he  can  refer  to  any  of  the  books  without  leaning 
forward  or  changing  his  position.  The  accountant, 
who  is 'constantly  stretching  forward  to  read  his  blot- 
ter and  day-book,  will,  by  this  simple  device,  have 
them  brought  before  his  face,  so  that  he  has  but  to 
raise  his  eye  to  catch  the  page.  I  confidently  believe 


POSITION. 


213 


that  this  book-holder  will  accomplish  more  than  all 
other  means  yet  presented,  to  correct  the  habit  of 
stooping,  and  will  thus  do  much  to  save  the  organs  of 
the  chest. 

But,  to  return  to  schools.  False  positions  are  not 
confined  to  sitting  attitudes.  When  the  pupil  rises  to 
walk,  he  is  often  required  to  place  his  arms  in  some 
position  which  produces  stooping. 


Fig.  4. 


Fig.  4  is  the  worst  of  these  false  positions.  The 
pupil  may — with  his  hands  thus  locked  behind — draw 
his  shoulders  back ;  but  if  you  will  watch  a  school  of 
one  hundred  pupils  as  they  march  along,  with  arms 
thus  placed,  you  will  observe  that  not  one  of  them 
does  carrv  the  head  and  shoulders  erect. 


214 


CONSUMPTION. 


Fig.  5. 


ig>  5  displays  another  unhealthy  position.  With 
the  arms  thus  folded,  the  respiration  is  checked,  and 
the  shoulders  drawn  forward.  If  the  reader  will 
stand  erect,  shoulders  and  head  well  drawn  back,  his 
arms  by  his  side ;  then  fold  them  across  the  chest  in 
front,  and  carefully  observe  the  change  in  the  position 
of  the  shoulders,  and  in  his  ability  to  inflate  his  lungs, 
he  will  clearly  see  how  this  attitude  cramps  the  respi- 
ratory function.  Experimenters  have  proved  that  the 
amount  of  air  which  the  lungs  can  take  in  at  a  single 
inspiration,  is  greatly  lessened  when  the  arms  are  thus 
folded. 


POSITION. 


215 


fig.  6. 


Fig.  6  is  a  good  position,  opening  the  chest,  and 
iecuring  a  noble  attitude  of  the  spine. 


Fif.7. 


216  CONSUMPTION. 

Fig.  1  is  somewhat  unseemly,  but  in  a  physiologi- 
cal aspect,  the  best  possible  position  for  the  pupil's 
arms.  It  would  do  much,  if  practiced  five  minutes, 
two  or  three  times  a  day,  with  the  head  well  drawn 
back,  to  strengthen  the  muscles  of  the  spine,  and  par- 
ticularly those  of  the  neck,  whose  weakness  permits 
the  head  to  droop.  This  drooping  of  the  head  is 
almost  universal  among  Americans,  especially  among 
American  women.  I  commend  this  bit  of  muscular 
training  to  the  consideration  of  teachers. 

Carrying  the  hands  in  a  muff,  or  clasped  in  front,  at 
the  waist,  so  common  and  constant  among  ladies,  is  an 
unphysiological  habit.  The  arms  should  be  carried  at 
the  side,  and  swung.  I  think  taste  as  well  as  physi- 
ology demands  this.  That  peculiar  waddling,  which 
women  exhibit  when  moving  rapidly,  is  the  result  of 
this  joining  the  hands  in  front.  Let  any  gentleman 
who  would  study  the  effects  of  this  false  position  of 
the  arms,  experiment  upon  himself,  and  he  will  be 
satisfied  that  the  usual  and  fashionable  manner  in  which 
ladies  carry  their  arms  in  walking,  spoils  the  gait  and 
contracts  the  chest.  Swinging  the  arms  is  a  most  im- 
portant part  of  the  exercise  of  walking.  To  undertake 
it  with  the  arms  folded,  or  the  hands  in  a  muff,  is  to 
spoil  it,  both  in  the  Aspect  of  beauty  and  usefulness. 


IS   CONSUMPTION   CONTAGIOUS.  217 


IS  CONSUMPTION  CONTAGIOUS? 

Morgagni  and  other  eminent  physicians  of  former 
times  believed  in  the  contagiousness  of  consumption, 
and  so  strong  and  general  is  this  belief  in  Southern 
Europe,  even  now,  that  the  furniture  of  the  room 
where  a  person  dies  of  this  malady,  is  burned.  Only 
recently,  a  law  existed  in  Rome  by  which  the  propri- 
etor of  a  house  might  claim  payment  for  such  furniture, 
which  by  the  law  must  be  burned.  The  general  opin- 
ion now  among  writers  on  the  subject,  in  England, 
France,  and  the  United  States,  is  against  the  conta- 
giousness of  the  disease. 

These  writers  have  not  failed  to  observe  that  often 
an  entire  family,  one  after  another,  dies  of  pulmonary 
consumption ;  but  this  they  think  is  to  be  traced  to 
hereditary  predisposition,  or  to  some  general  causes 
which  operate  alike  on  all  the  family.  Often  it  can 
be  traced  to  loss  of  sleep,  mental  grief,  etc.,  in  at- 
tendance upon  the  sick.  As  I  have  intimated,  it  is 
now  agreed  that  phthisis  is  not  contagious,  but  it  is 
advised  that  persons  who  are  predisposed  to  the  disease 
should  avoid  remaining  long  in  small  rooms  with 
phthisical  persons,  and  particularly  that  they  should 
avoid  sleeping  with  such  persons. 
19 


218  CONSUMPTION. 


CONSUMPTION  PREVENTED. 

1  have  spoken  of  the  treatment  of  consumption. 
The  residue  of  the  work  is  devoted  to  its  treatment. 
But  in  this  malady  a  ton  of  cure  is  worth  less  than  an 
ounce  of  prevention. 

I  have  just  lectured  upon  the  causes  and  prevention 
of  pulmonary  diseases  to  fifty  young  ladies  in  a  semi- 
nary of  this  city.  Judging  from  statistics  and  the 
appearance  of  my  audience,  ten  or  twelve  of  them  will, 
in  the  usual  course  of  things,  die  of  consumption. 
But  the  skill  and  care  needed  to  cure  one,  after  the 
disease  is  established,  would  prevent  the  disease  in  the 
ten  or  twelve  candidates. 

It  is  easy  to  prevent  a  thousand  boys  from  learning 
to  chew  tobacco.  It  is  hard  to  induce  one  man  to 
abandon  the  use  of  it.  The  Associations  known  as  the 
"Cadets  of  Temperance"  have  saved  thousands  ol 
boys  from  the  vice  of  drunkenness.  The  temperance 
societies  have  saved  very  few  drunkards. 

The  general  adoption  of  hygenic  measures  would 
save  thousands  who  might  otherwise  fall  victims  to  con- 
sumption, and  with  far  less  thought  and  care  than  are 
required  to  cure  one  after  the  disease  has  been  devel- 
oped. 


CONSUMPTION   PREVENTED.  219 

If  I  am  asked  how  the  parent  can  determine  the 
existence  of  the  predisposition,  and  therefore  the  ne- 
cessity of  preventive  measures?  I  reply,  do  not  be 
alarmed !  give  all  your  children  good  health,  it  will 
not  harm  them ;  and  if  you  should,  by  mistake,  give 
vigorous  health  to  one  who  is  not  consumptive,  it 
would  not  prove  the  greatest  calamity  !  Even  a  weak 
spine,  a  dyspeptic  stomach,  or  an  aching  head  is  not 
so  great  a  blessing  that  it  might  not  be  spared.  Ex- 
pend upon  your  daughter's  body  one-quarter  as  much 
as  you  devote  to  her  music,  and  if  the  expenditure  be 
wisely  directed,  you  will,  unless  her  constitution  be 
incorrigibly  bad,  save  her  from  all  physical  maladies. 
You  may  not  think  so,  but  I  assure  you  that  during 
her  life  she  will  be  more  grateful  to  you  for  this  atten- 
tion to  her  physical  health  than  for  all  the  Music  and 
French  you  can  give  her.  And  if  you  will  pardon  the 
apparent  extravagance  of  the  statement,  I  believe  a 
good,  vigorous  body  would  be  worth  a  thousand  times 
as  much  to  her  as  the  Music  and  French.  I  would 
not  underrate  mental  accomplishments.  I  wish  their 
number  and  completeness  could  be  greatly  augmented, 
but  their  value,  as  compared  with  physical  symmetry 
and  health,  has  been  ridiculously  overrated. 

In  the  present  condition  of  the  young  in  this  coun- 
try, from  one-quarter  to  one-third  of  the  school- 
hours  should  be  given  to  physical  training.  Such  a 


220  CONSUMPTION. 

policy  would  not  only  lead  to  health  and  strength  phy- 
sical, but  would  evoke  healthier  mental  and  moral  con- 
ditions. If  through  one  or  two  generations  this  work 
be  well  done,  less  care  will  then  be  needed. 

And  such  a  policy  we  shall  adopt  in  the  school  to 
be  opened  in  Boston  next  Autumn. 

This  preventive  policy  should  not  be  confined  to 
school  children.  The  thousands  who  are  to  die  of 
consumption  during  the  next  year,  are  now,  most  of 
them,  in  a  condition  to  be  saved.  What  will  save 
them?  Not  to  weary  the  reader  by  repetition,  I  will 
simply  reply,  that  the  instructions  given  in  this  book 
will  guide  them.  But  the  difficulty,  already  men- 
tioned, is  this  :  —  how  shall  these  candidates  for  con- 
sumption ascertain  the  fact  of  their  predisposition? 
Every  person  who  is  not  perfectly  well,  should  at  once 
seek  to  become  so.  The  investment  will  not  be  a 
ruinous  one.  Good  health  is  no  great  loss,  even  if 
you  are  in  no  danger  of  dying  immediately  of  con- 
sumption. It  will  certainly  be  worth  a  thousand  times 
as  much  as  the  earthly  gains  which  you  seek  with  such 
eagerness. 

The  instructions  given  in  this  work  for  consumptives,  are 
without  exception,  applicable  to  all  persons  with  weak 
chests. 


IS    CONSUMPTION   CURABLE.  221 


IS  CONSUMPTION  CURABLE? 

A  great  number  of  eminent  practitioners,  both  in 
Europe  and  America,  declare  without  reserve,  that 
consumption,  even  in  the  third  stage,  is  curable.  The 
dissecting  room  presents,  in  the  form  of  scars  in  the 
lungs,  indubitable  proof  of  the  curability  of  consump- 
tion. 

Dr.  Abernethy  asks,  "  Can  consumption  be  cured? '' 
And  replies,  "  this  is  a  question  a  person  who  has 
lived  in  a  dissecting  room  would  laugh  at." 

Sir  James  Clark  declares,  "that  pulmonary  con- 
sumption admits  of  cure,  is  no  longer  a  matter  of 
doubt.  It  has  been  clearly  demonstrated  by  Laennec 
and  other  modern  pathologists." 

Dr.  Carswell  says,  "  Pathological  Anatomy  hag 
perhaps  never  afforded  more  conclusive  evidence  of 
the  curability  of  any  disease,  than  it  has  of  tubercular 
phthisis." 

"  What  else,"  asks  Prof.  Calkins,  "  than  the  cura- 
bility of  phthisis,  do  the  facts  demonstrated  by  morbid 
anatomy — of  cavities  and  cicatrices  in  the  lungs — prove  ?" 

While  Dr.  Sweet  warmly  declares,  "From  the  re- 
coveries I  have  witnessed,  I  will  never  despair  of  the 
life  of  a  patient  with  phthisis." 
19* 


222  CONSUMPTION. 

Lsennec,  whose  investigations  threw  a  flood  of  light 
on  the  nature  of  pulmonary  consumption,  states  : — 
"  In  some  cases,  consumption  is  cured  by  nature,  in 
the  last  stages,  after  the  softening  of  the  tubercles  and 
the  formation  of  an  ulcerous  excavation." 

Dr.  J.  Hughes  Bennett,  who  examined  a  great 
number  of  lungs,  in  which  evidences  of  former  ulcera- 
tion  were  found ,  in  the  form  of  puckerings  and  concre- 
tions, expresses  himself  thus: — "  That  my  observa- 
tions, with  those  of  Roger  and  Boudet,  establish  the 
fact  that  the  spontaneous  cure  of  tubercle  occurs  in 
the  proportion  of  from  one  third  to  one  half  of  all  con- 
sumptives who  die  of  other  diseases  after  forty  years 
of  age." 

An  eminent  London  physician,  in  an  able  work  on 
diseases  of  the  chest,  expresses  the  belief,  "  that  true 
consumption  is  sometimes  cured  in  its  most  advanced 
stage." 

A  distinguished  French  surgeon,  M.  Fournet,  de- 
clares that  he  "  met,  in  the  course  of  one  year,  four- 
teen cases  of  confirmed  consumption,  which  were  cured, 
besides  ten  other  cases  in  which  dissections  revealed 
the  traces  of  caverns  which  had  become  perfectly 
healed." 

In  the  Medico  Chirurgical  Review,  the  same  physi- 
cian declares  his  conviction  "  that  consumption,  in  all 
its  stages,,  is  frequently  cured." 


IS   CONSUMPTION   CURABLE.  223 

The  eminent  Dr.  Parrisli,  of  Philadelphia,  had  con- 
consumption  in  early  life,  and  cured  himself  by  riding 
over  the  pavements  in  that  city,  in  a  carriage,  without 
springs,  while  visiting  his  patients.  After  death  his 
lungs  were  examined  and  scars  were  found  in  them. 

A  case  is  given  by  Dr.  Chisholm,  of  a  soldier  labor- 
ing under  the  worst  symptoms  of  the  disease,  "  who, 
taken  prisoner  by  the  enemy  p^id  forced  to  make  a  long 
march,  was  cured." 

In  addition  to  the  three  cases  cured  by  the  hardships 
of  military  life  during  the  revolutionary  war,  Dr.  Rush 
gives  another,  of  a  young  man  from  New  Jersey,  who 
was  sent  to  sea  for  consumption.  He  was  taken  pris- 
oner by  a  British  cruiser,  and  compelled  to  work  as  a 
common  sailor.  When,  after  two  years,  he  escaped 
and  returned  home,  he  was  in  fine  health.  Pie  cites 
another  case  cured  by  constant  horseback  riding,  as  a 
courier.  Dr.  Rush  shared  with  Sydenham  the  con- 
viction, that  this  species  of  exercise,  regularly  and  long 
continued,  was  as  sure  a  cure  for  consumption  as  bark 
for  an  intermittent. 

It  is  amusing  to  read  the  testimony  of  those  medical 
men  who  declare  that  pulmonary  consumption  is  abso- 
lutely incurable.  It  is  strange  that  they  will  ignore 
such  testimony  as  I  have  brought  forward.  If  scars 
were  presented  in  other  parts  of  the  body,  they  would 
not  doubt  that  they  originated  in  destructive  disease. 


224  CONSUMPTION. 

If  true  pus  were  secreted  in  other  tissues,  they  would 
not  doubt  that  lesion  had  occurred.  But  in  the  case 
of  tuberculous  disease  of  the  lung  tissue,  they  start, 
not  upon  the  basis  of  pathological  facts,  patent  to  every 
observer,  but  with  the  assumption  that  the  disease  is 
incurable,  and,  to  maintain  this  assumption,  they 
stoutly  contend,  no  matter  what  the  testimony  of  the 
stethescope,  that  if  the  patient  recover,  the  case  was 
not  true  consumption. 

The  testimony  of  many  medical  men  against  the 
curability  of  this  disease,  rests  upon  the  constant  fail- 
ure of  the  means  they  have  employed  in  its  treatment. 
Because  the  drugs  they  have  administered,  fail,  they 
say,  ergo,  the  disease  is  incurable.  That  consump- 
tion is  incurable  by  medicines,  I  admit.  That  it  is 
often  cured  by  pure  air,  exercise,  and  other  similar 
agencies,  no  intelligent  and  candid  physician  can 
doubt. 

I  quite  agree  with  the  following  from  an  eminent 
writer : — 

"  There  seems,  indeed,  no  reason  why  cavities  in 
the  lungs  should  not  heal  with  the  same  frequency  as 
ulcerations  or  abscesses  in  other  internal  organs,  if  the 
fresh  deposit  of  tubercle  be  arrested.  This  is  only  to 
be  accomplished  by  overcoming  the  pathological  con- 
ditions on  which  tubercle  depends.  Thest  are*,  First, 


IS  CONSUMPTION  CURABLE.  225 

a  morbid  state  of  the  blood,  the  result  of  imperfect  nu- 
trition;  Second,  local  inflammation,  by  means  of  which 
an  unhealthy  exudation  is  poured  out,  which  assumes 
the  form  of  tubercular  or  scrofulous  matter.  The  indi- 
cations for  treatment  are,  First,  to  overcome  all  indiges- 
tion ;  Second,  to  furnish  the  material  for  healthy 
chyme ;  and,  Third,  to  combat  local  inflammation." 

• 

In  the  light  of  such  testimony,  from  such  authori- 
ties, and  in  view  of  my  own  experience,  I  cannot  say, 
even  to  those  who  have  reached  the  third  and  last  stage 
of  the  malady,  "  You  must  die  !  there  is  no  hope  for 
you  !  "  If  the  patient  is  intelligent  and  resolute,  and 
can  give  up  his  time  to  the  treatment,  I  conscientiously 
say  to  him,  "There  is  hope;  you  may  recover !  If 
you  are  willing  to  eat  right,  sleep  right,  bathe  right, 
and  exercise  right,  you  may  be  a  well  man  again." 

I  trust  I  shall  not  be  misunderstood.  I  do  not 
Bay  that  all  consumptives,  after  reaching  the  third 
stage,  can  be  cured,  even  if  surrounded  by  the  most 
favorable  circumstances.  But  I  do  mean,  that  even  in 
the  last  stage,  some  of  them  can  be  cured.  There  are 
now  on  record  more  than  a  thousand  cases  in  which 
puckerings,  scars,  or  concretions  in  the  lungs,  testify  to 
the  possibility  of  such  cure.  And  most  of  these  have 
been  witnessed  by  eminent  medical  men,  in  post  mortem 
examinations,  in  the  hospitals  of  Europe.  I  have  said 


226  CONSUMPTION. 

a  thousand  such  evidences  have  been  witnessed.  1 
presume  the  number  has  reached  ten  thousand,  but  I 
speak  only  of  those  reports  which  two  or  three  hours' 
reading  in  my  library,  with  reference  to  this  point,  has 
enabled  me  to  collect. 

But  whatever  opinion  may  be  entertained  of  the 
curability  of  the  disease  after  it  has  reached  the  stage 
of  softening,  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  manageability  of 
phthisis  while  the  tubercles  are  yet  hard  and  unin- 
flamed.  I  do  not  mean  that  the  tubercles  will  be 
absorbed,  but  that  the  constitutional  symptoms  will  be 
removed,  the  patient  will  recover  his  flesh  and  strength, 
and  live  on  to  old  age.  This  is  not  only  possible  but 
entirely  practicable  in  a  majority  of  patients  while  yet 
in  the  first  stage  of  consumption. 

I  would  not  overrate  the  value  of  fresh  air,  sunshine, 
bathing,  friction,  exercise  and  other  hygenic  agen- 
cies ;  but  do  I  not  simply  echo  the  voice  of  the  wisest 
physicians,  in  claiming  that  such  influences  will  cure 
this  dreaded  malady  in  many  cases  ? 

Next  Autumn  we  shall  open  in  Boston  an  institution 
for  the  treatment  of  this  class  of  invalids.  Those  who 
are  in  earnest,  who  are  willing  to  live  on  plain,  sub- 
stantial, unstimulating  food,  go  to  bed  at  eight  o'clock, 
sleep  in  well  ventilated  rooms,  take  the  proper  baths, 
submit  patiently  to  all  the  general  and  special  exer- 
cises of  the  Movement  Cure  which  may  be  prescribed 


RECREATIONS.  227 

for  them,  and  spend  from  three  to  six  hours  a  day  on 
the  back  of  a  pony,  in  all  sorts  of  weather  —  such 
patients  may  find  in  this  institution  the  beginning  of  a 
new  life. 


RECREATIONS. 

I  must  mention,  first,  several  recreations  which  are 
peculiarly  injurious  to  consumptives.  Of  these,  the 
theatre  is  perhaps  the  worst.  How  any  sane  invalid 
of  this  class  can  sit  four  hours  in  the  vile  atmosphere 
of  one  of  these  dens  amazes  me.  Should  a  patient  of 
mine,  belonging  to  this  class,  attend  a  theatre,  I 
should  feel  conscientiously  impelled  to-  abandon  his 
case  at  once.  Whatever  may  be  said  of  its  morals, 
the  atmosphere  of  the  place  is  abominable.  Language 
almost  as  strong  may  be  applied  to  the  concert-room 
and  to  fashionable  parties.  A  young  lady  with  con- 
sumptive taint  goes  through  the  fashionable  round  of 
theatres,  parties  and  concerts.  At  the  same  time  she  is 
swallowing  cod-liver  oil,  and  wearing  counter-irritants. 
Can  anything  be  more  absurd  and  pitiful  ? 

Games  of  cards,  chess,  draughts,  &c.,  in  which  the 
players  are  pretty  sure  to  sit  in  heated  rooms,  with 
drooping  shoulders  and  little  motion,  are  all  injurious. 


228  CONSUMPTION. 

While  many  popular  amusements  are  mischievous, 
it  is  nevertheless  true  that  recreations  constitute  one 
of  the  most  important  agencies  in  the  prevention  and 
cure  of  consumption.  Those  amusements  in  which 
there  is  boisterous  laughter,  and  social  exhilaration, 
are  wonderful  in  their  influence  for  good. 

Out-of-door-sports  are  particularly  valuable.  Hunt- 
ing, fishing,  (for  those  who  are  fond  of  killing,)  row- 
ing, sailing,  skating,  (if  not  too  cold,)  ball-playing, 
hoop-rolling,  rope-skipping,  walking,  saddle-riding, 
swimming,  and  in  brief,  any  one  of  the  many  vigorous 
open-air  games,  is  invaluable. 

The  practical  study  of  botany,  geology,  or  mineral- 
ogy, would  give  health  to  thousands  who  are  now 
dying  over  Greek  and  Latin  lexicons,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  infinitely  better  influence  upon  head  and  heart. 

Among  the  sports,  I  particularly  commend  foot- 
ball, battledore,  and  those  games  in  which  shouting  is 
necessary.  To  feeble  patients,  horseback-riding  is  of 
incomparable  value. 

If  the  invalid  be  properly  dressed,  he  may  enjoy 
out-door  sports  during  all  sorts  of  weather.  Neithei 
rain,  snow,  nor  wind,  should  deter  him.  The  patient 
who  remains  in-doors  during  all  the  bad  weather  in 
this  climate,  will  go  out  but  little.  While  walking  is 
per  se,  inferior  to  many  modes  of  out-door  recreations, 
it  is,  I  think,  for  obvious  reasons,  the  most  valuable 


EECEEATIONS.  229 

of  them  all.  It  can  be  enjoyed  by  all  classes,  by  per- 
sons of  all  ages,  and  almost  all  degrees  of  strength, 
without  preparation ,  without  expense,  and  at  all  sea- 
sons of  the  year.  And  in  addition  to  all  these  advan- 
tages, it  is,  if  rightly  performed,  an  excellent  exer- 
cise in  itself, — gentle  or  vigorous  at  pleasure. 

I  said,  if  rightly  performed ;  for  few  persons  know- 
how  to  walk.  And  yet  the  essential  feature  of  a  good 
gait  is  an  erect  spine. 

If  the  invalid  is  at  liberty  to  choose  the  hour  for  his 
out-door  exercise,  he  should  select,  during  most  sea- 
sons of  the  year,  the  middle  of  the  forenoon.  As 
second  best,  four  or  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
And  as  third  best,  the  early  morning.  Those  who 
have  most  vitality,  often  find  an  early  hour  the  best. 
Every  consumptive  should  live  as  constantly  as  possible  in 
the  open  air.  I  repeat  that  if  you  are  well  clad,  fog, 
rain,  and  other  atmospheric  conditions  which  are  gen- 
erally considered  unfavorable,  will  do  you  no  harm. 

When  advised  to  walk,  patients  often  reply,  I  can- 
not walk  for  the  mere  sake  of  walking ;  I  must  have 
some  other  object.  Let  me  supply  you  with  that 
object.  I'll  suppose  you  are  a  woman.  You  live  in  a 
city.  Extend  your  next  walk  into  a  suburban  local- 
ity. Enter  a  negro  cabin ;  sit  down  in  their  midst ; 
speak  with  them  as  a  sister ;  tell  pleasant  stories  to 
the  little  ones ;  talk  with  them  earnestly  about  their 
20 


230  CONSUMPTION. 

health ;  explain  in  a  simple  way  the  laws  of  ventila- 
tion ;  tell  them  how  tobacco  spoils  their  brains  and 
lungs.  Leaving  with  an  affectionate  good-bye,  you 
promise  to  come  again  in  a  week.  They  will  talk  of 
nothing  else,  and  will  look  forward  impatiently  to  the 
time  when  "  that  sweet  angel  will  come."  If  your 
pocket  is  full,  you  may  give  them  other  and  substan- 
tial reasons  for  a  hearty  welcome.  If  you  have  a 
woman's  heart,  you  will  not  lack  for  an  object  the 
next  time  you  go  that  way.  If  you  make  acquaint- 
ances similar  to  this,  but  with  pleasant  variety,  in  six 
different  directions,  your  head  and  your  heart  will  be 
full  every  day  of  the  week.  You  will  forget  your 
health  and  enjoy  every  walk,  inspired  by  a  truly 
Christian  sentiment. 

While  speaking  of  walking,  I  must  tell  you  some- 
thing amusing,  You  know  we  have  in  Boston  a 
beautiful  Common  and  Public  Garden.  Together, 
they  offer  the  finest  possible  opportunity  for  a  morning 
or  evening  walk.  We  are  greatly  crowded,  and  need 
more  than  the  people  of  any  other  American  city 
just  the  opportunity  afforded  by  these  delightful 
grounds.  Now,  you  will  hardly  believe  it,  but  it  is 
nevertheless  true,  that  not  one  fashionable  lady  in  ten 
ever  steps  inside  of  the  Common.  It  is  not  the  style. 
The  common  people  are  there.  Beautiful  birds  and 
squirrels,  and  trees,  and  walks,  all  woo  the  occupants 


RECREATIONS.  231 

of  the  great  houses  in  the  neighborhood  to  come  out 
into  the  cool  breezes  and  fragrance,  but  not  a  soul  will 
stir,  because  the  "common  herd"  go  there.  Last 
evening  was  a  delightful  one  on  the  Common.  With 
my  wife,  I  went  out  at  7  o'clock  to  see  and  feed  the 
squirrels.  The  park  was  charming.  Great  crowds 
were  there.  But  not  one  of  the  ton  could  be  seen. 
"  Our  set  does  not  frequent  the  Common."  Really, 
for  this  democratic  country,  where  every  "man's  a 
man  for  a'  that,"  this  is  the  strongest  case  of  biting 
one's  nose  off,  for  the  style  of  the  thing,  I  have  ever 
seen. 

I  ought,  however,  to  say,  that  among  the  true  aris- 
tocracy of  Boston  there  is  a  hearty  appreciation  of  our 
public  grounds,  greatly  enhanced,  during  their  fre- 
quent walks,  by  meeting  crowds  of  the  poor  who  flock 
from  the  narrow,  dark  streets  to  breathe  the  pure  air, 
and  sit  or  recline  in  the  blessed  sunshine. 

MORAL. — You  should  accept  most  gratefully  the 
blessings  of  Heaven  in  this  world,  and  Heaven  itself 
hereafter,  even  if  your  companions  do  not  belong  to 
"  our  set." 

Speaking  of  the  Common,  we  took  our  regular 
morning  walk  this  morning,  (May  21st.)  at  5  o'clock. 
We  made  the  entire  circuit  of  the  Common  and  the 
Garden.  The  morning  was  warm,  but  we  saw  among 
the  hundreds  of  houses  only  twelve  windows  open. 


232  CONSUMPTION. 

This  indicates  immense  vitality  on  the  part  of  these 
favored  people.  I  am  sure  I  should  fall  sick  if  thus 
shut  up,  away  from  the  pure  air. 


EXERCISE. 

Motion  is  the  great  law  of  the  universe.  It  is  the 
first  instinct  of  animal  life.  When  it  ceases,  life 
ceases.  The  degree  of  life  may  be  measured  by  the 
amount  of  normal  motion.  When  the  life-forces  run 
low,  the  natural  and  most  effectual  method  of  invigor- 
ating those  forces  is  found  in  motion. 

The  popular  education  of  our  children  is  a  lamenta- 
ble violation  of  this  law.  The  young  child,  left  in 
freedom,  keeps  its  nurse  on  the  qui  vive  during  every 
waking  hour  by  its  uncontrollable  activity.  The  effort 
which  our  school-system  makes  to  crush  out  this  in- 
stinct, by  compelling  children  to  sit  on  hard  chairs, 
bent  over  desks,  motionless,  six  hours  a  day,  is,  con- 
sidered in  its  influence  upon  the  vitality  of  the  nation, 
the  saddest  of  all  possible  mistakes. 

A  radical  change  in  this  respect  is  imperatively 
demanded  by  the  growing  intelligence  of  the  people. 
The  Germans, — God  bless  them  ! — having  given  more 


EXERCISE.  233 

faithful  study  to  the  various  problems  of  human  devel- 
opment, have  devised  better  modes.  The  Kindergar- 
ten, one  of  the  many  beautiful  blossoms  of  the  genius 
of  that  noble  people,  is  being  transplanted  to  this 
country.  Wise  parents,  thank  Heaven,  and  take 
heart.  Miss  Peabody's  Kindergarten,  in  Boston, 
should  be  visited  by  the  friends  of  education 

Nothing  at  this  hour  is  so  much  needed  in  thcf 
development  of  the  young  as  some  system  of  physical 
training,  which,  under  competent  masters,  may  be 
introduced  as  a  part  of  the  daily  drill  into  all  our 
schools,  public  and  private.  The  routine  should  be  so 
arranged  that  study  and  physical  exercise  should  alter- 
nate in  periods  not  longer  than  half  an  hour  through 
out  the  day. 

For  example  :  the  school  opens  at  9  o'clock.  The 
first  half-hour  is  devoted  to  study  and  recitation.  The 
second  is  given  to  vigorous  training  in  the  gymnasium 
under  a  drill-master,  and  to  music.  The  third  to 
study  and  recitation.  The  fourth  to  drill,  in  which 
those  with  weak  stomachs  form  a  class  by  themselves, 
with  special  exercises  ;  those  with  weak  chests  another  ; 
those  with  weak  spines  still  another :  all  classified  and 
treated  according  to  their  several  needs.  The  fifth 
half-hour  to  study  and  recitation.  The  sixth  to  decla- 
mation, singing,  or  culture  of  the  vocal  organs,  in 
general  and  special  ways.  The  seventh  and  eighth 
20* 


234  CONSUMPTION. 

half-hours  to  study,  conversation,  <fec.  And  again  in 
the  afternoon  an  alternation  of  intellectual  and  physi- 
cal exercises,  the  latter  so  ordered  as  to  bring  into 
play  every  muscle,  and  thus  secure  the  symmetrical 
development  of  the  body.  Who  can  doubt  that  under 
this  system  greater  progress  would  be  made  in  intel- 
lectual culture  than  at  present?  The  mind  would  find 
more  effective  tools  for  its  work. 

But,  with  an  incredulous  shake  of  the  head,  the 
people  say,  "  Yes,  this  is  all  very  fine,  but  quite 
impracticable."  If  by  this  they  mean  that  it  is  not 
practicable  until  the  public  conscience  is  better  enlight- 
ened, I  grant  the  force  of  the  objection.  But  if  they 
mean  to  say,  that,  with  a  due  appreciation  of  physical 
culture,  such  a  school  is  an  impracticability,  I  am  con- 
fident they  are  mistaken.  The  order  I  suggest  could 
be  introduced  in  a  week  in  any  existing  school,  did  the 
parents  and  teachers  so  will.  I  am  happy  to  be  able 
to  say  that  such  a  school  as  I  have  described,  possess- 
ing all  the  best  facilities  for  classical  and  scientific 

O 

instruction,  and  under  the  management  of  eminent 
educators  will  be  opened  in  Boston  on  the  1st  of  Octo- 
ber, 1863. 

THEODORE  D.  WELD,  for  many  years  at  the  head 
of  the  EAGLESWOOD  SCHOOL,  in  New  Jersey,  will 
preside  over  one  of  the  most  important  departments  of 
the  institution.  This  announcement  will  be  received 


EXERCISE.  235 

by  Mr.  Weld's  friends  with  sincere  gratification.  It 
was  feared  that  this  esteemed  and  beloved  teacher  had 
definitely  retired  from  the  educational  field. 

I  shall  have  the  honor  to  preside  over  the  depart- 
ment of  Physical  Culture. 

A  circular  containing  the  names  of  the  teachers, 
with  the  special  and  general  features  of  the  institution, 
can  be  obtained  by  addressing  Dio  Lewis,  Box  12, 
Boston  Post  Office. 

In  every  part  of  the  North  we  see  young  per- 
sons with  large,  active  brains  and  defective  bodies. 
To  such,  this  school  will  offer  facilities  for  an  integral 
and  symmetrical  education  ;  such,  I  believe  I  may  say, 
without  injustice  to  others,  as  have  not  been  found  in 

• 

any  school  of  modern  times. 

This  school  has  been  determined  upon  from  the  con- 
viction that  only  in  beginning  with  the  rising  genera- 

J  o  o     O 

tion,  can  the  results  of  physical  culture,  or  the  system 
combining  both  physical  and  intellectual  culture,  in 
their  natural  relations,  be  thorough  and  satisfactory, 
and  that  the  results  of  this  experiment  would  do  more 
than  all  that  can  be  said  or  written  to  arouse  public 
attention. 

It  is  with  much  sacrifice  to  myself,  that  I  consent  to 
superintend  the  physical  training  of  the  new  school. 
But  I  am  deeply  impressed  with  the  conviction,  that 
the  effects  of  such  a  course  of  training,  as  seen  not  only 


236  CONSUMPTION. 

in  the  symmetry  and  vigor  of  the  body,  but  in  the 
mental  and  moral  progress  of  the  pupils,  will  inaugu- 
rate a  new  era  in  our  American  system  of  education. 

Galen  informs  us  that  "  If  diseases  take  hold  of 
particular  parts  of  the  body,  there  is  nothing  more 
sure  to  drive  them  out  than  diligent  exercise.*' 

Lord  Bacon  declared,  "  there  was  no  disease  whose 
further  development  could  not  be  prevented,  or  which 
at  the  commencement  could  not  have  been  cured  by- 
bodily  exercise." 

Hufeland  says,  "If  young  children  are  compelled 
to  sit  quietly  in  a  room,  and  their  young  minds  urged 
to  action,  we  lake  from  them  the  noblest  part  of  their 
strength,  and  consume  it  in  the  function  of  thinking.  Thus 
growth  is  retarded,  the  limbs  imperfectly  developed, 
the  muscles  weakened,  digestion  becomes  bad,  scrofula 
appears,  and  then  ensues  a  great  predominance  of  the 
nervous  system.  Any  unequal  development  of  our 
faculties  is  injurious,  and  it  is  certain  that  mental  ex- 
ertions weaken  the  more  they  are  unaccompanied  by 
bodily  movements.  It  is  also  certain  that  those  who, 
between  their  mental  occupations,  go  through  suitable 
bodily  exercises,  can  work  much  more  than  those  who 
neglect  this  exercise  of  the  body ;  give  a  child  suffi- 


EXERCISE.  237 

cient  muscular  motion,  so  that  its  store  of  nervous 
strength  can  be  turned  to  the  muscles  of  volition.  Let 
a  child  exercise  daily  and  often  in  pure  air,  until  fa- 
tigue follows,  and  I  am  sure  he  will  not  think  of 
vicious  practices.  These  are  the  attendants  of  seden- 
tary education  in  boarding  schools  and  monastic  estab- 
lishments, where  exercise  is  measured  by  half  hours. 

"  Gymnastics  act  on  the  courage,  producing  inde- 
pendence and  presence  of  mind.  No  man  can  possess 
much  courage  with  a  narrow  chest  and  half  developed 
lungs.  They  produce  cheerfulness  and  regulate  the 
fancy  and  imagination.  They  also  diminish  a  predis- 
position to  moral  faults  that  undermine  health  and 
bodily  purity." 

Rousseau  says  that  ' '  All  sensual  passions  are  found 
in  effeminate  bodies ;  while  the  more  they  are  roused 
the  less  they  are  satisfied.  A  weak  body  weakens  the 
mind." 

Plato,  the  greatest  of  ancient  philosophers,  says, 
"  excess  of  bodily  exercise  may  render  us  wild  and 
unmanageable ;  but  excess  of  art,  science  and  music, 
makes  us  fuddled  and  effeminate.  Only  the  right  com- 
bination of  both  makes  us  wise  and  manly." 

Another  writer  says,   "Gymnastics  in  concert,  by 


238  CONSUMPTION. 

both  sexes,  with  music,  cultivates  friendship,  noble 
sympathies,  accuracy,  order  and  discipline,  and  does 
for  the  body  what  intellectual  training  does  for  the 
mind  —  educates  and  strengthens  it.  Body  education 
is  not  less  important  than  mental  training.  When  we 
consider  how  intimate  is  the  relation  between  the  res- 
piratory capacity  and  the  tendency  to  consumption, 
we  cannot  fail  to  see  the  importance  of  wisely  regu- 
lated muscular  training.  Exercise  greatly  increases 
the  capacity  of  the  lungs." 

Says  a  distinguished  writer,  "  if  you  wish  to  devel- 
ope  the  mind  of  a  pupil,  exercise  his  body ;  make  him 
healthy  and  strong,  that  you  may  make  him  prudent 
and  reasonable." 

Sweetser  says,  "  Were  I  required  to  name  the  rem- 
edy which  promises  most  aid  in  the  onset  of  consump- 
tion, I  should  say,  daily  gentle  and  protracted  exercise 
in  a  mild  and  equable  atmosphere Ex- 
ercise, moreover,  determines  the  blood  to  the  surface 
of  the  body,  rendering  the  cutaneous  functions  more 
active  and  healthful,  and  may  in  this  way  also  con- 
tribute to  the  advantage  of  the  lungs." 

Dr.  Parrish  says,  "  that  vigorous  and  free  exposure 


EXERCISE.  239 

to  the  air  is  by  far  the  most  efficient  remedy  in  pulmo- 
nary consumption." 

Dr.  Pitcher  states  that  "  the  consumptive  Indiana 
of  the  Osage  tribe  have  their  symptoms  suspended 
during  their  semi-annual  buffalo  hunts,  but  that  these 
soon  return  on  becoming  again  inactive  in  their  towns." 

Dr.  Chambers,  physician  to  St.  Mary's  Hospital, 
says,  "  If  we  examine  the  history  of  those  who  have 
lived  longest  with  consumption,  we  shall  not  find  them 
to  have  been  those  who  have  lived  in-doors,  hanging 
their  lives  on  their  thermometers."  He  gives  the  case 
of  a  friend  of  his  ' '  who  from  his  youth  has  had  tuber- 
cular disease,  but  has  kept  hounds,  contested  elections, 
sat  in  Parliament,  but  never  allows  any  one  to  doctor 
his  chest." 

THE  GOOD  AND  GREAT  DR.  RUSH,  whose  writings 
upon  the  throat  and  lungs  have  been  regarded  as  more 
valuable  than  those  of  any  other  American  author,  his 
work  on  the  voice,  constituting  a  great  fountain,  from 
which  all  subsequent  writers,  both  in  America  and 
Europe,  have  largely  drawn — this  personal  friend  of 
Washington,  and  father  of  American  medicine,  has 
spoken  more  explicitly  than  any  other  writer,  upon  the 
importance  of  EXERCISE  IN  CONSUMPTION. 


240  CONSUMPTION. 

And,  as  the  great  majority  of  those  who  will  peruse 
these  pages  have  never  seen  Dr.  Rush's  works,  I  take 
the  liberty  to  transcribe  largely  from  one  of  his  books, 

* '  SEA-VOYAGES  have  cured  consumption ;  but  it  has 
been  only  when  so  long,  or  so  frequent,  as  to  substi- 
tute the  long  continuance  of  gentle,  to  violent  degrees 
of  exercise  of  a  shorter  duration,  or  where  they  have 
been  accompanied  by  some  degree  of  the  labor  and 
care  of  navigating  the  ship. 

"  A  CHANGE  OF  CLIMATE  has  often  been  prescribed 
for  the  cure  of  consumption,  but  I  do  not  recollect  an 
instance  of  its  having  succeeded,  except  when  it  has 
been  accompanied  by  exercise,  as  in  travelling,  or  by 
some  active,  laborious  pursuit. 

"  Dr.  Gordon,  of  Madeira,  ascribes  the  inefficacy  of 
the  air  of  Madeira,  in  the  consumption,  in  part  to  the 
difficulty  patients  find  of  using  exercise  in  carriages,  or 
even  on  horseback,  from  the  badness  of  the  roads  in 
that  island. 

* '  JOURNEYS  have  often  performed  cures  in  the  con- 
sumption, but  it  has  been  chiefly  when  they  have  been 
long,  and  accompanied  by  difficulties  which  have  roused 
and  invigorated  the  powers  of  the  mind  and  body. 


EXERCISE.  241 

"VOMITS    AND    NAUSEATING   MEDICINES    have    been 

much  celebrated  for  the  cure  of  consumption.  These, 
by  procuring  a  temporary  determination  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  body,  so  far  lessen  the  pain  and  cough,  as 
to  enable  patients  to  use  profitable  exercise.  Where 
this  has  not  accompanied  or  succeeded  the  exhibition 
of  vomits,  I  believe  they  have  seldom  afforded  any  per- 
manent relief. 

* '  BLOOD-LETTING  has  often  relieved  consumptions ; 
but  it  has  been  only  by  removing  the  troublesome 
symptoms  of  inflammatory  diathesis,  and  thereby 
enabling  the  patients  to  use  exercise  or  labor  with 
advantage. 

"  VEGETABLE  BITTERS,  and  some  of  the  STIMU- 
LATING GUMS,  have,  in  some  instances,  afforded  relief 
in  consumption ;  but  they  have  done  so  only  in  those 
cases  where  there  was  great  debility,  accompanied  by 
U  total  absence  of  inflammatory  diathesis.  They  most 
probably  acted  by  their  tonic  qualities,  as  substitutes 
fpr  labor  an:l  exercise. 

".A  PLENTIFUL   AND    REGULAR  PERSPIRATION,  CX- 
cited  by  means   of  a  flannel  shirt,  worn  next  to  the 
akin,  or  by  means  of  a  stove  room,  or  by  a  warm  cli- 
mate, has,  in  many  instances,  prolonged  life  in  con- 
21 


242  CONSUMPTION. 

sumptive  habits ;  but  all  those  remedies  have  acted  as 
palliatives  only,  and  thereby  have  enabled  the  con- 
sumptive patients  to  enjoy  the  more  beneficial  effects 
of  exercise. 

"  BLISTEES,  SETONS,  AND  ISSUES,  by  determining 
the  perspirable  matter  from  the  lungs  to  the  surface 
of  the  body,  lessen  pain  and  cough,  and  thereby  pre- 
pare the  system  for  the  more  salutary  effects  of  exer- 
cise. 

"  The  effects  of  SWINGING,  upon  the  pulse  and  respi- 
ration, leave  no  room  to  doubt  of  its  being  a  tonic 
remedy,  and,  therefore,  a  safe  and  agreeable  substitute 
for  exercise." 

Again,  the  same  eminent  man  says  : — 

' '  I  now  come  to  treat  of  the  RADICAL  REMEDIES 
FOR  PULMONARY  CONSUMPTION. 

"  In  a  preceding  inquiry,  I  mentioned  the  effects  of 
labor,  and  the  hardships  of  a  camp  or  naval  life,  upon 
this  disease.  As  there  must  frequently  occur  such  ob- 
jections to  each  of  these  remedies  as  to  forbid  their 
being  recommended,  or  adopted,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  seek  substitutes  for  them  in  the  different  species  of 
exercise.  There  are  active,  passive,  and  mixed.  The 


EXERCISE.  243 

active  includes  walking,  and  the  exercise  of  the  hands 
and  feet,  in  working  or  dancing.  The  passive  includes 
rocking  in  a  cradle,  swinging,  sailing,  and  riding  in 
carriages.  The  mixed  is  confined  chiefly  to  riding  on 
horseback. 

' '  I  have  mentioned  all  the  different  species  of  exer- 
cise, not  because  I  think  they  all  belong  to  the  class 
of  radical  remedies  for  consumption,  but  because  it  is 
often  necessary  to  use  those  which  are  passive  before 
we  recommend  those  of  a  mixed  or  active  nature. 
That  physician  does  not  err  more,  who  advises  a  pa- 
tient to  take  physic,  without  specifying  its  quantities 
and  doses,  than  the  physician  who  advises  a  patient  in 
a  consumption  to  use  exercise,  without  specifying  its 
species  and  degrees.  From  the  neglect  of  this  direc- 
tion, we  often  find  consumptive  patients  injured  instead 
of  being  relieved,  by  exercise,  which,  if  used  with 
judgment,  might  have  been  attended  with  the  happiest 
effects. 

"  I  have  before  suggested,  that  the  stimulus  of  every 
medicine  which  is  intended  to  excite  action  in  the  sys- 
tem, should  always  be  in  exact  ratio  to  its  excitability. 
The  same  rule  should  be  applied  to  the  stimulus  of  ex- 
ercise. I  have  heard  a  well  attested  case  of  a  young 
lady,  upon  whose  consumption  the  first  salutary  im- 
pression was  made  by  rocking  her  in  a  cradle ;  and  I 
know  another  case,  in  the  lowest  state  of  that  debility 


244  CONSUMPTION. 

which  precedes  an  affection  of  the  lungs,  was  prepared 
for  the  use  of  the  mixed  and  active  exercises,  by  being 
first  moved  gently  backward  and  forward  in  a  chariot, 
without  horses,  for  an  hour  every  day.  Swinging  ap- 
pears to  act  in  the  same  gentle  manner.  In  the  case 
of  a  gardener,  who  was  far  advanced  in  consumption, 
in  the  Pennsylvania  Plospital,  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
observing  its  good  effects  in  an  eminent  degree. 

"In  cases  of  extreme  debility,  the  following  order 
should  be  recommend  in  the  use  of  the  different  species 
of  exercise : — 

"  1.  Rocking  in  a  cradle,  or  riding  on  an  elastic 

board,  commonly  called  a  chamber  horse. 

"2.  Swinging. 

"3.  Sailing. 

"4.  Riding  in  a  carriage. 

"5.  Walking. 

"6*.  Running  and  dancing. 

"In  the  use  of  each  of  these  species  of  exercise, 
great  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  degree  or  force 
of  action  with  which  they  are  applied  to  the  body. 
For  example,  in  riding  in  a  carriage,  the  exercise  will 
be  less  in  a  four-wheel  carriage  than  in  a  single  horse 
chair ;  and  less  when  the  horses  move  in  a  walking 
than  a  trotting  gait.  In  riding  on  horseback,  the  ex- 


EXERCISE.  245 

crcise  will  be  less  or  greater,  according  as  the  horse 
walks,  paces,  canters,  or  trots. 

"  The  more  the  arms  are  used  in  exercise  the  better. 
One  of  the  proprietary  governors  of  Pennsylvania, 
who  labored  for  many  years  under  a  consumptive  dia- 
thesis, derived  great  benefit  from  frequently  rowing 
himself  in  a  small  boat,  a  few  miles,  up  and  down  the 
river  Schuylkill.  Two  young  men,  who  were  predis- 
posed to  a  consumption,  were  perfectly  cured  by  work- 
ing steadily  at  a  printing  press  in  this  city.  A  French 
physician,  in  Martinique,  cured  this  disease  by  simply 
rubbing  the  arms  between  the  shoulders  and  the  elbows 
until  they  were  inflamed.  The  remedy  is  strongly 
recommended,  by  the  recoveries  from  consumption 
which  have  followed  abscesses  in  the  armpits.  Per- 
haps the  superior  advantages  of  riding  on  horseback  in 
this  disease,  may  arise,  in  part,  from  the  constant  and 
gentle  use  of  the  arms  in  the  management  of  the  bridle 
or  whip." 


I  have  given  two  or  three  cases  of  the  remarkable 
results  of  exercise  in  consumption,  reported  by  Dr. 
Rush.  His  writings  are  prolific  of  these  reports,  but  I 
have  given,  in  the  paragraphs  already  submitted,  his 
conclusions,  which,  from  such  a  man,  always  include 
the  underlying  facts. 
21* 


246  CONSUMPTION. 

SPECIAL  EXERCISES  NEEDED  FOK  CONSUMP- 
TIVES.—  Consumptives  are  advised  to  ride  on  horse- 
back, to  make  long  journeys  in  the  saddle.  This  is 
doubtless  one  of  the  most  valuable  exercises.  There 
are  numerous  well-authenticated  instances  of  cures  by 
its  means,  even  in  the  advanced  stages  of  the  disease. 
But  many  persons  cannot  avail  themselves  of  its  ad- 
vantages. In  our  cities,  not  one  phthisical  invalid  in 
ten,  especially  among  women,  can  command  facilities 
for  daily  horse-back  riding,  still  less  can  they  take 
long  journeys. 

Hunting,  fishing,  and  mountain  air  are  advised. 
But  how  can  many  who  reside  in  towns  and  cities,  and 
who  most  need  muscular  training,  secure  such  recrea- 
tions ? 

Walking  is  very  generally  prescribed,  and  is  doubt- 
less the  most  available  of  the  exercises  named.  But 
in  the  case  of  women,  the  present  mode  of  dress  seri- 
ously interferes  with  the  ease  and  physiological  benefits 
of  this  exercise ;  and  few  would  exchange  the  long 
skirt  for  the  short  one  with  pantalets  or  Turkish  trou- 
sers. And  yet  this  change  is  indispensable  to  the  best 
results. 

While  I  would  encourage  all  out-door  exercises 
and  amusements,  particularly  walking,  horse-back 
riding,  fishing,  hunting,  gardening,  the  ball,  games, 
&c.,  &c.,  is  it  not  evident  that  a  series  of  exercises 


EXERCISE.  247 

which  can  be  introduced  into  every  house,  which  may 
be  practiced  at  all  seasons,  and  in  all  kinds  of  weather, 
by  persons  of  both  sexes,  all  ages  and  degrees  of 
strength,  and  which  possess  such  peculiar  fascinations 
as  to  make  them  permanently  attractive,  are  greatly  to 
be  desired,  to  meet  wants  which  cannot  be  otherwise 
supplied  ? 

Many  exercises  have  been  advised  with  reference  to 
general  health  and  strength.  I  submit  a  series  pos- 
sessing peculiar  virtues  for  the  consumptive.  To  him 
all  exercises  are  not  equally  profitable.  Ten  move- 
ments of  a  sort  adapted  to  his  special  needs  are  worth 
a  hundred  not  so  adapted.  He  has  a  narrow  chest 
and  drooping  shoulders.  This  distortion  results  in 
displacement  of  the  lungs.  And  yet  he  may  have  legs 
and  hips  comparatively  vigorous.  Ten  movements 
concentrated  upon  those  muscles  whose  deficiency 
permits  the  drooping  of  the  shoulders  will  be  more 
valuable  than  a  hundred  for  the  legs.  There  are  sev- 
eral hundred  muscles  in  the  human  body.  In  every 
case  of  consumption  certain  groups  of  these  muscles 
are  defective.  Restoration  of  the  lost  symmetry  calls 
for  those  exercises  which  will  develope  the  defective 
groups.  Prescribing  a  walk  for  a  patient  whose  legs 
are  already  vigorous,  but  whose  arms  and  shoulders 
are  contracted  and  weak,  is  like  prescribing  a  medicine 


248  CONSUMPTION. 

because  it  is  a  medicine,  without  regard  to  the  nature 
of  the  malady. 

A  blister  applied  to  the  chest  relieves  pain  within. 
It  accomplishes  this  by  drawing  the  blood  to  the  sur- 
face, and  thus  subtracting  from  the  congestion  at  the 
point  of  disease.  If  the  blister  were  applied  to  the 
foot  or  leg,  it  would  not  sensibly  relieve  the  congestion 
in  the  chest. 

If,  instead  of  applying  a  blister,  we  use  exercise  as 
the  remedial  measure,  and  by  drawing  blood  into  the 
muscles  we  would  relieve  the  congestion  within,  the 
importance  of  subtracting  from  the  vessels  which  bear 
the  blood  to  the  diseased  part  is  not  less  than  in  the 
case  of  the  blister.  For  the  relief  or  cure  of  disease 
in  any  of  the  chest  organs,  a  few  well-directed  move- 
ments of  those  muscles  about  the  chest  which  lack 
circulation  will  accomplish  more  than  hours  of  walk- 
ing. 

The  intelligent  physician,  in  prescribing  muscular 
training,  will  not  say,  simply  and  generally,  "  I  ad- 
vise you  to  exercise,"  but  he  will  indicate  the  particu- 
lar exercises  applicable  to  the  case.  He  will  first 
thoughtfully  ask,  "  What  group  of  muscles  is  defect- 
ive ?  "  When  he  has  answered  this  question  accurate- 
ly, he  is  prepared  for  a  second, — "  What  exercises 
will  bring  into  direct  training  the  defective  group  ? " 
When  these  points  are  settled,  he  can  direct  the  train- 


EXERCISE.  249 

ing  wisely.  To  recommend  horseback-riding — good 
as  it  is — for  all  consumptives,  is  not  a  whit  more  dis- 
criminating than  to  prescribe  a  particular  variety  of 
food  for  all  invalids.  The  medical  man  who  has  a 
general  formula  for  a  certain  class  of  patients  is  hardly 
more  thoughtful  than  the  vender  of  the  "  all-healing 
ointment." 

Little  or  no  attention  has  been  given  to  the  vital 
subject  of  exercise  as  a  curative  means.  In  many 
cases  treated  by  Ling's  methods,  when  skilfully  ap- 
plied, the  results  have  been  so  marvellous  that  medical 
men  who  have  not  studied  the  philosophy  of  the 
Movement  Cure  have  attributed  the  rapid  improve- 
ment to  Animal  Magnetism.  They  could  not  conceive 
that  muscular  exercise  alone  could  produce  such  won- 
derful results. 

Symmetry  of  body  and  mind  is  vital  to  health.  Its 
loss  in  the  mind  leads  not  unfrequently  to  insanity, — 
its  loss  in  the  body  to  numberless  maladies.  The 
great  defect  in  our  system  of  education  lies  just  here. 
There  is  no  discrimination  between  the  members  of  a 
class,  part  of  which  needs  one  kind  of  culture  to  pro- 
duce symmetry  and  health,  while  another  part  need* 
quite  another.  The  gymnasium,  where  all  perform 
the  same  exercises,  may  be  charged  with  the  sa*me  rad- 
ical defect.  In  a  school  for  thorough  mental  or  physi- 
cal training,  pupils  must  be  classified  and  trained  with 


250  CONSUMPTION. 

reference  to  their  individual  needs.  This  principle 
underlies  the  successful  treatment  of  consumption. 
He  who  would  contribute  to  its  cure  by  exercise — the 
most  efficient  of  all  possible  remedies — must  not  say  to 
his  patients  simply,  "  Exercise,  exercise,  exercise," 
but  he  must  distinctly  mark  out  those  exercises  which 
are  precisely  adapted  to  the  case  of  each. 

As  an  additional  reason  for  discrimination  in  pre- 
scribing physical  exercises  for  consumptives,  it  may  be 
mentioned  that  in  almost  every  patient  belonging  to 
this  class  there  are  complications  with  other  diseases 
each  of  which  requires  consideration. 


PERCUSSION. 

In  consumption,  there  is  generally  feeble  circulation 
in  the  muscles  and  other  soft  parts,  which  cover  the 
bony  frame-work  of  the  thorax. 

To  draw  the  blood  from  the  congested  'lung  to  the 
surface,  we  apply  blisters  and  irritating  ointments  to 
the  surface.  But,  under  a  better  dispensation,  we  em- 
ploy exercise  to  accomplish  the  same  result.  There  is 
too  much  blood  within  ;  this  congestion  is  an  essential 


PERCUSSION.  251 

feature  of  the  malady.  To  cure  or  relieve  the  sufferer, 
we  direct  him  to  exercise  the  muscles  without,  and 
thus,  by  giving  them  an  increased  quantity  of  blood, 
we  relieve  the  diseased  organs  within,  of  their  burden. 
As  before  remarked,  the  primary  and  principal  object 
of  all  exercise  is  equilibrium  in  the  circulation.  Beside 
blisters  and  other  similar  irritants,  we  seek  this  equi- 
librium in  the  use  of  many  means. 

Of  all  these  means,  exercise  is  the  most  important 
and  available. 

As  active  exercises  are  not  always  practicable,  or,  at 
least,  to  the  necessary  extent,  we  frequently  resort  to 
mixed  exercises,  or  those  in  which  the  invalid  is  as- 
sisted by  another  person ;  or,  again,  to  the  passive,  in 
which  the  patient  passively  submits  to  the  manipula- 
tions of  the  assistant. 

Of  all  the  passive  exercises,  Percussion  is  the  most 
important.  It  is  generally  practiced  with  the  open 
hands.  This  slapping  seems,  when  performed  by  an 
adept,  a  very  simple  art,  but  is  really  quite  difficult. 
The  motion  should  be  one  of  the  wrists,  or,  rather,  the 
wrist  should  be  lax,  while  the  hand  should  be  so  man- 
aged that  it  will  completely  fit  every  inequality  of  the 
person  of  the  patient.  The  hands  are  struck  in  alter- 
nation-, and  the  motion  may  be  a  rapid  one.  Every 
beginner  strikes  too  hard.  The  blows  should  not  be 
painful  to  the  patient. 


252  CONSUMPTION. 

This  percussion  may  be  practised  for  almost  any 
malady.  It  is  invaluable  in  paralysis,  for  nearly  aL 
diseases  of  the  spine,  for  dyspepsia,  torpid  liver,  consti- 
pation, and  for  consumption. 

In  the  use  of  percussion  for  diseases  of  the  organs 
of  the  chest,  it  is  not  necessary,  nor  always  advisable, 
to  apply  the  percussion  upon  the  chest.  If  the  ex- 
tremities lack  circulation,  and  the  respiration  of  the 
patient  be  such  that  he  cannot  exercise  his  limbs 
actively,  the  assistant  may  percuss  them  with  great 
profit.  I  often  have  a  phthisical  patient  whose  ex- 
tremities are  cold,  percussed  in  various  ways  upon 
these  parts,  a  half  hour.  This,  of  course,  is  done 
-while  the  patient  is  recumbent,  and  while  his  limbs  are 
supported  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  the  percussion 
most  agreeable.  The  blows  should  not  be  long  con- 
tinued in  one  place,  at  one  time,  but  the  patient  should 
be  turned  from  lying  on  his  back  to  lying  on  his  face, 
and  again  to  either  side. 

When  the  patient  can  bear  this  treatment  directly 
upon  the  chest,  it  will  prove  most  effective.  It  is  most 
valuable  when  applied  upon  the  back  part  of  the  chest, 
across  and  about  the  shoulder-blades.  If  the  spine  be 
tender,  it  should  be  avoided.  Next,  it  is  most  valua- 
ble when  applied  to  the  sides,  the  patient  raising  the 
arm  of  the  exposed  side  over  his  head.  Upon  the 


PERCUSSION. 


253 


fiont  of  the  chest,  the  blows  may  be  given  to  every 
part  except  the  female  breast. 

I  need  scarcely  say  that,  in  this  exercise,  it  is  best 
the  patient  should  lie  down,  and  have  the  head  and 
shoulders  in  a  comfortable  position.  The  blows  are  to 
be  so  light  that  they  will  produce  neither  cough  nor 
pain.  The  exercise  may  be  continued  as  long  as  it  ia 
agreeable  to  the  patient. 

In  the  School  which  we  shall  open  in  Boston  next 
fall,  for  the  Physical,  Mental,  and  Moral  Training  of 
Girls  and  Boys,  we  shall  divide  the  pupils  into  classes 
for  the  physical  department,  gathering  those  who  have 
defective  chests  in  one  class,  for  such  special  exercises 
as  are  adapted  to  their  wants. 


22 


Fig.  1. 


254 


CONSUMPTKXN. 


One  of  these  exercises,  and  an  Important  one,  will 
be  percussion.  As  applied  to  the  chest,  I  will  give  a 
few  illustrations,  which  may  suggest  the  uses  of  per- 
cussion when  performed  in  classes. 

When  divided  into  couples,  the  boys  by  themselves 
and  the  girls  by  themselves — though  I  see  the  artist 
has  placed  a  boy  and  a  girl  together — at  the  word, 
each  couple  will,  in  alternation,  percuss  each  other,  an 
shown  in  Fig.  1. 

After  two  or  three  minutes  devoted  to  this  mode, 
they  will,  at  the  word  of  command,  change  to  that 
shown  in  Fig.  2.  Then  in  order  to  Figs.  3,  4,  and  5. 


.  2. 


FJSilCUSSION. 


255 


n».  a. 


256 


CONSUMPTION. 


Ft*.  5. 

I  need  hardly  remind  the  intelligent  reader,  that  Dr. 
Halsted  and  other  physicians  acquired,  at  one  time,  * 
wide-spread  fame  for  the  cure  of  dyspepsia.  Each  of 
these  famous  doctors  pledged  his  patients  to  secrecy. 
But,  as  usual  in  such  cases,  the  secret  escaped,  and  it 
turned  out  to  be  percussion  of  the  abdomen.  I  know  a 
grave  clergyman  who  went  to  one  of  these  doctors,  to 
be  treated  for  a  severe  dyspepsia.  He  was  taken 
through  one  room,  down  a  flight  of  stairs,  through  a 
long  hall,  up  another  flight  of  stairs,  turned  about, 
down,  up,  around,  and  through,  until  a  small,  myste- 
rious garret  room  was  reached,  in  which  he  made  a 
solemn  promise  never  to  reveal  the  secret ;  and  I  be- 


PERCUSSION.  257 

lieve  he  never  broke  his  promise,  though  this  much  of 
the  trickery  he  did  reveal  to  me.  But  another  patient 
did  leak  so  badly  that  we  found  out  the  whole  secret. 
Do  you  ask  what  was  the  result  of  the  treatment  of 
these  percussion  doctors?  I  reply,  so  far  as  I  know, 
or  heard,  it  was  most  happy.  Their  patients  were  all 
cured  or  greatly  improved. 

Percussion  is  invaluable  for  those  invalids  who  are 
not  strong  enough  to  engage  in  active  exercises ;  and 
I  may  add,  that  I  have  practiced  it  upon  vigorous  peo- 
ple, over  some  affected  organ,  with  great  satisfaction 
and  profit  to  the  patient. 


APPARATUS   FOR    THE    SPECIAL 
EXERCISES. 

I  advise  some  exercises  which  require  peculiar  ap- 
paratus. But,  with  the  exception  of  the  spirometer, 
you  can  make  it  yourself,  or  get  some  mechanic  in 
your  neighborhood  to  make  it  for  you. 

I  could  prescribe  such  exercises  as  would  require  no 
special  apparatus,  but  they  are  greatly  inferior  to  those 
I  have  advised. 

When  the  doctor  directs  a  mixture  for  you,  he  doea 
22* 


258  CONSUMPTION. 

not  confine  himself  to  such  ingredients  as  you  have  in 
your  house,  but  he  selects  what  he  believes  to  be  best ; 
and  it  generally  happens  that  you  have  to  visit  the 
apothecary's. 

In  prescribing  exercise  for  the  prevention  or  cure  of 
chest  affections,  I  advise  those  which  I  have  found 
from  a  long  experience,  to  be  best  for  persons  who 
would  exercise  at  home. 

Suppose  the  cost  of  the  articles  is  twenty  dollars ! 
What  is  this  for  health  and  strength  of  your  chest? 
You  will  give  five  times  that  sum  for  the  doctor's 
drugs,  in  one  sickness,  and  receive,  perchance,  nothing 
but  a  sore  mouth  and  aching  bones. 

I  advise  you  not  to  engage  in  this  business  in  a 
half-way  style,  but  obtain  the  apparatus  complete,  and 
get  about  it  in  a  manner  as  earnest  as  if  you  were 
expecting  to  make  a  thousand  dollars. 

It  is  not  like  investing  money  in  some  new  patent 
medicine.  That  is  but  a  doubtful  experiment  at  best. 
But  exercise,  you  know,  will  strengthen  and  develope 
the  chest  organs.  It  surely  is  not  necessary  for  a 
doctor  to  tell  you  that  exercise  will  make  your  body 
grow.  And  if  you  follow  my  direction,  "  not  te 
exercise  to  fatigue,"  there  can  be  no  mistake  about  a 
favorable  result. 


APPARATUS.  259 


THE    SPIKOMETER. 

This  is  a  direct  and  effective  means  of  enlarg- 
ing and  strengthening  the  pulmonary  apparatus. 
The  lungs  are  drawn  as  full  as  possible,  when 
the  lips  are  applied  to  the  instrument,  and  you 
blow.  Suppose  you  blow  into  the  instrument  with  a 
force  equal  to  sixty  ounces  on  a  square  inch — and  this 
is  not  unusual — it  will  be  seen  that  the  same  force 
must  reach  every  inch  of  the  lungs.  The  result  is, 
that  the  air  is  forced  into  every  air  cell. 

By  false  position,  improper  dress,  or  lack  of  exer- 
cise, a  large  proportion  of  the  millions  of  air  cells  are 
closed.  Disease  of  the  lungs  often  begins  with  this 
closing  of  the  cells.  If  they  are  kept  open,  and  the 
air  circulates  through  every  part,  it  is  hardly  possible 
to  concieve  of  the  establishment  of  disease. 

In  using  this  Spirometer,  the  air  is  not  allowed  to 
escape  from  the  lungs ;  not  two  per  cent,  of  a  chest 
full,  can  be  crowded  into  the  minute  reservoir  of  the  in- 
strument. The  air  is  retained  in  the  chest,  and  the 
entire  muscular  strength  is  employed  to  force  it  into 
the  Spirometer,  and,  at  the  same  time — of  course  with 
precisely  the  same  power  —  into  every  part  of  the 
lungs. 


2GO  CONSUMPTION. 

In  my  long  and  varied  experience  as  a  teacher  of 
Gymnastics,  I  have  seen  no  means  employed  which  s< 
rapidly  enlarges  and  invigorates  the  chest.  I  advise 
every  perse n  with  weak  voice  or  defective  respiration, 
to  employ  a  Spirometer  regularly.  I  have  witnessed 
many  singularly  happy  results  from  its  use  in  contracted 
chests.  As  will  be  readily  inferred,  in  no  exercise  are 
the  walls  of  the  chest  so  forced  outward  in  all  directions, 
and  in  no  other  exercise  are  the  muscles  concerned  in 
respiration  brought  so  directly  and  vigorously  into 
play. 

President  Felton,  of  Harvard,  nearly  two  years  ago, 
wrote  me  a  letter  about  this  Spirometer,  after  he  had 
used  it  a  few  months,  which  letter  I  published  at  the 
time.  Among  other  statements  it  contained  the  fol- 
lowing : — 

4 '  I  have  found  that  my  respiration  is  freer  for  the 
whole  day,  after  practicing  a  few  minutes  with  thip 
Spirometer." 

The  instrument  is  little  more  than  a  foot  from  side 
to  side,  and  four  inches  deep  from  front  to  back,  with 
bronzed  case,  and  not  in  the  least  liable  to  get  out  of 
repair.  With  it  there  are  sent  full  instructions  for  its 
use. 

It  is  a  beautiful  parlor  ornament,  and  a  source  of 


APPARATUS. 


261 


mrch  amusement  to  one's  self  and  friends.     This  is  not 
the   only   means   by  which  the  same  result  may  be 


262  CONSUMPTION. 

reached.  Any  ingenious  mechanic  can  devise  at  once 
some  simple  contrivance,  into  which  you  can  blow 
hard  without  the  air  escaping  from  your  lungs. 

THE  PANGYMNASTIKON.  The  late  Prof.  Schreber 
fully  sustained  his  claim  to  be  regarded  as  the  most 
philosophic  and  ingenious  of  modern  teachers  of  the 
gymnastic  art.  His  complete  work  illustrating  the 
Pangymnastikon  is  the  most  remarkable  of  his  pro- 
ductions. The  work  has  been  translated  and  pub- 
lished with  all  of  Prof.  Schreber 's  illustrative  cuts, 
by  Dr.  Dio  Lewis,  of  whom  it  can  be  obtained  for  the 
benefit  of  those  who  do  not  read  German. 

It  can  be  put  up  in  any  parlor  or  sitting-room,  and 
removed  in  a  minute,  leaving  nothing  to  mar  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  apartment.  A  hall,  five  or  six  feet 
wide,  will  give  room  for  every  feat.  But  the  room 
may  be  twenty  or  thirty  feet  wide,  and  the  height  of 
the  ceiling  may  be  from  eight  to  sixteen  feet.  On 
ship-board,  where  it  may  be  used  in  the  roughest 
weather,  it  serves  an  excellent  purpose. 

The  variety  of  exercises  is  something  wonderful. 
All  the  bars,  ladders,  swings,  &c.,  of  the  ordinary 
gymnasium,  will  not  give  half  of  the  variety  of  exer- 
cises which  is  found  in  this  single  and  simple  piece  of 
apparatus.  It  is  justly  esteemed  as  the  most  remark- 


APPARATUS. 


263 


able  invention  in  the  whole  field  of  physical  culture. 
It  is  adapted  to  persons  of  all  ages,  and  both  sexes. 

DESCRIPTION    or    THE   PA^GYMNASTIKON.     Four 
hooks  are  screwed  into  one  and  the  same  joist.     (One 


264  CONSUMPTION. 

is  seen  at  b.)  The  two  hooks  over  the  hand-rings 
should  be  eighteen  inches  apart,  and  the  other  two  as 
near  the  side  wall  as  convenient.  Each  should  go 
into  the  joist  at  least  six  inches,  with  a  very  coarse 
thread.  The  rosette  seen  in  B,  used  with  each  hook 
and  armed  with  three  strong  screws,  keeps  the  hook  in 
place  if  it  is  disposed  to  get  loose  in  the  joist.  The 
rosette  likewise  gives  a  handsome  finish  to  the  hooks, 
which  otherwise  might  show  a  fracture  in  the  plas- 
tering. 

The  hand-rings  of  iron,  and  covered  with  leather, 
will  be  readily  understood.  They  are  suspended  by 
two  ropes,  which,  it  will  be  seen,  pass  over  the  hooks 
in  the  ceiling.  These  ropes  are  connected  with  the 
hand-rings  by  a  strong  cock-eye  and  strap,  seen  at  C. 
With  the  buckle  in  the  strap  the  height  of  the  hand- 
ring  can  be  altered  two  inches  in  half-inch  distances, 
which  is  an  important  feature.  It  wjll  be  observed 
that  the  large  ropes  which  support  the  hand-rings, 
after  passing  through  the  hooks,  are  spliced  into 
smaller  ropes,  which  have  knots  at  intervals  of  eight 
inches.  These  knotted  ropes  pass  through  "  holders," 
which  are  fastened  to  the  mop-boards  with  screws. 
The  "  holder  "  is  seen  at  A. 

The  height  of  the  hand-ring  is  altered  at  pleasure 
by  this  knotted  rope.  By  a  simple  motion  of  the 
hand,  the  knotted  rope  is  drawn  through  the  "  hold 


APPARATUS.  265 

er  "  in  either  direction  six  or  eight  feet,  and  thus  the 
hand-rings  are  allowed  to  fall  within  a  foot  of  the 
floor,  or  drawn  up  out  of  reach.  This  contrivance  is 
entirely  a  new  thing,  and  perfectly  satisfactory. 

One  hand-ring,  it  will  be  observed,  has  an  extra 
rope.  One  belongs  to  each  ring.  These  ropes, 
which  are  designed  to  hold  the  hand-rings  apart,  are 
likewise  knotted,  and  pass  through  the  same  "  hold 
era,"  which  have  two  notches  for  this  purpose. 

The  straps  and  stirrups  are  very  strong,  and  the 
length  of  the  strap  is  changed  by  a  brass  H,  in  a 
quick  and  secure  manner. 

The  ropes  are  of  the  longest  fibred  manilla,  and 
handsomely  spliced.  The  short  straps,  of  which  there 
are  four,  one  to  connect  each  rope  with  the  hand-ring, 
are  all  of  strong,  good  leather ;  the  hardware  is 
japanned,  and  each  piece  furnished  with  its  appropri- 
ate screws.  Four  large  diagrams  on  map  paper,  each 
eighteen  by  twenty-nine  inches,  presenting  one  hun- 
dred and  seven  cuts,  illustrating  the  exercises,  to  be 
hung  up  on  the  wall,  so  that  with  a  single  glance  of 
the  eye  the  order  can  be  learned.  The  whole  is  boxed 
for  shipment,  at  this  office,  for  ten  dollars.  Address 
Dr.  Dio  Lewis,  Box  12,  Boston  Post  Office. 

The  height  of  the  ceiling  and  the  width  of  the  room 
must  be  sent. 

As  intimated  before,  whoever  would  make  this  ap- 
23 


266  CONSUMPTION. 

par  at  us  for  himself,  can  easily  do  so,  substituting  for 
the  iron  "  holders  "  small  wooden  pins,  which  should 
be  placed  near  enough  together  to  catch  the  knots  in 
the  ropes. 

DUMB  BELLS.  The  dumb  bell  may  be  of  any  hard 
wood,  the  balls  four  inches  in  diameter  for  men,  three 
inches  for  women,  and  less  for  small  children.  The 
handle  should,  in  length,  equal  the  diameter  of  the 
ball,  and  have,  in  the  middle,  a  slight  swell.  The 
ordinary  iron  dumb  bell  is  of  good  shape. 

CLUBS.  The  club  should  be  made  of  some  hard 
wood.  For  men  it  may  be  twenty  niches  long  and 
three  or  four  inches  in  diameter,  with  an  easy  handle. 
For  women  and  children  it  may  be  sixteen  inches 
long,  and  two  or  three  inches  in  diameter.  In  turn- 
ing the  handle  for  women  or  children,  the  mechanic 
must  be  renamed  that  their  hands  are  small. 

THE  RINGS.  The  ring  should  be  of  cherry,  black 
walnut,  or  mahogany,  six  inches  from  outside  to  out- 
side, and  one  inch  in  diameter.  It  should  be  polished 
very  smooth  in  the  lathe  with  shellac. 

WANDS.  The  wand  (a  round  stick)  should  be 
from  three  to  four  feet  in  length,  one  inch  in  diameter, 


APPARATUS .  267 

and  polished   very   smooth.      The   ends    should    be 
rounded. 

BEAN  BAGS.     These  may  be  made  of  strong  tick 
ing,  and  when  finished,  should  be  from  eight  to  ten 
inches  in  diameter,  and  three-fourths  filled  with  beans. 

If  any  person  with  weak  lungs  shall  seek  guidance  in 
this  book,  and  does  not  choose  to  obtain  all  or  any  of 
the  apparatus  advised,  he  can  use  those  exercises 
which  do  not  require  apparatus, — and  multiply  them 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  meet  the  demands  of  his  mus- 
cular system.  But  the  variety  and  arrangement  here 
presented  is  greatly  better. 

TIME  FOR  EXERCISE.  The  best  time  for  the  spe- 
cial exercises,  advised  in  this  work,  is  in  the  middle  of 
the  forenoon ;  or  (when  there  is  considerable  strength) 
early  in  the  morning ;  and,  unless  there  be  fatigue, 
the  next  best  time  is  from  seven  to  eight  o'clock  i-n  the 
evening.  Work  with  the  windows  of  your  room 
wide  open,  and,  if  it  be  in  the  day-time,  where  the 
sun  shines  upon  you. 

IT  MUST  NOT  BE  FORGOTTEN  THAT  THE  PATIENT 
SHOULD  STOP  BEFORE  HE  IS  FATIGUED.  It  IS  advised 

that  on  the  first  and  second  day  of  each  week,  the  new  exer- 
cises for  that  week,  should  be  performed  half  the  number  of 


268  CONSUMPTION. 

times  indicated,  and  with  much  less  force  than  will  be  ad- 
missible after  two  or  three  days.  T/tis  advice  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  in  those  cases  where  hemorrhage  has 
jeccntly  occurred. 

You  must  be  careful  not  to  hurry  yourself  with  the 
performance  of  the  exercises.  If  necessary,  give  a  full 
hour  or  more  to  the  work,  resting  after  each  exercise  till 
you  feel  quite  fresh  and  ready  for  the  next. 

The  health-seeker  must,  in  the  execution  of  all  ex- 
ercises (when  it  is  possible)  stand  erect,  with  head  and 
shoulders  drawn  far  back.  This  is  a  very  important 
direction  for  those  with  weak  chests,  with  the  usual 
drooping  shoulders. 

The  spirometer  should  always  be  used  before  begin- 
ning the  exercises.  Its  use  opens  all  the  air  cells,  and 
fully  prepares  the  lungs  for  those  deep  inspirations, 
which  are  so  important  to  the  most  profitable  muscu- 
lar training.  The  same  result  may  be  reached  to  a 
considerable  extent  by  filling  the  lungs  as  full  as  pos- 
sible, and  blowing,  holding  the  hand  over  the  mouth 
so  that  no  air  can  escape. 

I  may  remark  again,  that  in  using  the  spirometer, 
the  exerciser  should  not  blow  as  hard  as  he  can,  but  as 
in  other  exercises,  he  should  go  gently,  increasing  the 
effort  after  considerable  practice. 

This  advice  is  equally  applicable  to  the  exercises 
with  other  pieces  of  apparatus,  or  in  the  use  of  those 


AITAKATUS.  269 

which  require  no  apparatus.  Begin  at  first  very  gen- 
tly, and  increase  only  after  experience  proves  that  the 
work  does  not  make  you  sore,  or  fatigue  you. 

In  many  of  the  exercises,  you  have  one  or  two 
assistants.  These  should  be  gentle  and  patient  per- 
sons. Those  rough  people  who  begin  at  once  to  try 
their  strength  against  yours,  often  do  m  great  deal  of 
harm.  Your  servant,  if  you  have  one,  will  generally 
prove  the  best  assistant.  He  or  she  does  not  feel  at 
liberty  to  .wrestle  with  you,  but  will  quietly  follow 
your  instructions. 

As  soon  as  your  exercises  are  finished,  you  must  dress 
yourself  warmly,  and  lie  doivn  for  an  hour  or  two,  to 
sleep,  if  possible.  This  will  double  the  good  effects  of 
the  exercise.  Any  hurry  or  flurry  about  the  patient  is 
unfavorable.  Let  all  be  done  in  quietness  and  cheer- 
fulness. 

The  exercises  which  I  advise  in  this  work  for  inva- 
lids with  weak  chests,  are  not  the  same  which  are 
employed  for  this  class  of  patients,  in  rny  Movement 
Cure.  But  they  are  very  good  substitutes,  and  will 
almost  invariably  satisfy  the  health-seeker.  Those  I 
submit  in  this  book  have  been  used  by  numberless  pa- 
tients out  of  the  institution  with  excellent  results. 

I  should  give  in  full  the  exei'cises  employed  here, 
but  for  the  fact  that  I  use  a  good  deal  of  apparatus 
which  no  one  would  procure  for  home  use,  and  as  the 


270  CONSUMPTION. 

work  is  designed  for  non-professional  use,  it  is  desira- 
ble to  advise  such  means  as  are  available  to  the  million. 

But  even  with  this  desire  on  my  part,  I  am  obliged 
to  advise  a  few  pieces  of  apparatus,  to  obtain  whici. 
you  can  send  here,  or  make  the  substitutes  described 
in  each  case. 

Some  of  the  Cuts  which  appear  in  this  work  I  have 
used  in  another  work,  already  before  the  public.  But 
when  the  physician  gives  you  a  new  mixture,  you  do 
not  demand  that  each  ingredient  shall  be  one  which  he 
has  never  employed  before.  Perchance  he  has  given 
you  the  same  medicines  many  times.  He  now  makes 
a  new  compound. 

So  a  part  of  those  exercises  have  appeared  hi  a  for- 
mer work.  I  now  use  them  in  a  new  compound,  and 
for  a  special  purpose.  I  am  indebted  to  Friedrich 
Robert  Nitzsche  for  the  designs  of  many  cuts. 

To  MY  PATIENT,  OR  PUPIL.  —  You  have  a  weak 
chest,  or  perhaps  you  are  now  in  incipient  consump- 
tion. I  will  prescribe  for  you.  The  prescription  may 
not  be  the  best  possible  one  for  your  particular  condi- 
tion, but  it  will  certainly  do  you  good.  If  you  were 
now  before  me,  and  I  could  know  all  the  peculiar 
features  of  your  case,  I  might  alter  this  prescription. 
But  it  may  be  you  are  far  away,  and  I  cannot  see  you. 
But  there  are  certain  facts  in  your  case  which  I  may 


APPARATUS.  271 

assume  to  know.  You  have  abandoned  the  use  of 
medicines,  and  now  you  are  seeking  in  this  book  some 
more  effective  and  natural  means  of  cure.  You  are 
not  a  common,  ignorant  person.  If  you  were,  you 
would  continue  to  place  your  hopes  in  advertised  pa- 
tent medicines.  You  have  resolved  to  think  and  act 
for  yourself.  Besides,  you  share  the  common  opinion 
that  diseases  of  the  chest-organs  are  most  successfully 
treated  by  exercise  and  other  hygienic  agencies. 

I  have  an  advantage  over  the  medicine  doctor. 
When  he  gives  you  a  drug,  it  may  be  the  very  one 
which  of  all  the  materia  medica  would  most  injure 
you.  Medicine  is  a  dangerous  tool,  and  may  cut  the 
wrong  way. 

But  not  so  with  the  means  I  shall  prescribe.  You 
ask,  "May  not  exercise  prove  injurious  in  some 
cases  ?  "  Yes,  some  exercises  may  ;  but  not  such  as  I 
shall  advise. 

Spending  hours  in  the  warmest  season  out  in  the 
intense  rays  of  the  sun  might  prove  injurious,  but  a 
moderate  exposure  to  the  life-giving  sunshine  is  good 
for  all  invalids.  I  could  prescribe  a  certain  amount 
of  this  agency  for  all  persons  with  weak  chests,  with- 
out danger  of  going  wrong. 

A  gale  of  wind  might  injure  some  persons  with  weak 
lungs,  but  a  certain  amount  of  fresh  air  is  of  the  utmost 


272  CONSUMPTION. 


importance  to  all  invalids  of  this  class.     In  prescribing 
it  I  should  be  sure  of  going  right. 


So  there  are  extreme  exercises  which  might  injure 
some  consumptives.  But  there  are  certain  gentle  and 
special  ones  which  may  be  used  by  all  persons  with 
weak  lungs,  without  the  slightest  apprehension  of 
injury.  I  know  that  the  simplest  exercises  may  be 
abused.  Walking,  even,  simple  as  it  is,  may  be  so 
badly  managed  as  to  prove  injurious.  But  if  you  will 
be  guided  by  the  plain  instructions  of  this  book,  you 
shall  make  no  mistakes. 

GYMNASTIC  DRESS.  The  accompanying  cuts  show 
the  dress  which  we  have  adopted  for  the  Gymnasium 
and  Movement  Cure.  I  observe  the  artist  has  given 
the  female  dress  a  hoop,  which  we  do  not  use.  For 
both  sexes  we  make  the  dress  of  flannel,  which  for  all 
seasons  we  find  most  available. 

In  exercises  upon  the  Pangymnastikon  a  dress  with- 
out a  skirt  has  been  adopted.  It  is  greatly  liked,  and 
certainly  offers  a  most  profitable  freedom.  It  can  be 
put  on  and  thrown  off  in  a  moment,  and  if  used  quite 
in  private  is  not  only  admissible,  but  adds  not  a  little 
to  the  convenience  and  success  of  the  exercises  upon 
the  Pangymnastikon. 


APPARATUS. 


Female  Dress  for  PangymnastiooB. 


Male  and  Female  Dress  for  Exercises  in  Gvmnasium  and  Movement  Cnra. 


274  CONSUMPTION. 

In  all  the  exercises  with  dumb-bells,  rings,  wands, 
and  clubs,  music  will  assist  you.  With  every  motion  of 
the  body  and  arms,  you  keep  time  as  in  dancing. 
It  adds  greatly  to  the  interest,  and  delays  fatigue. 


SPECIAL  EXERCISES  FOR  PERSONS  WITH 
WEAK  CHESTS. 


FIRST  WEEK. 


All  of  these  exercises  are  to  be  executed  every  day 
of  the  week. 

As  before  estimated  the  Spirometer  should  be  used 
always  before  you  begin  your  regular  exercise.  Or  if 
you  have  no  spirometer  you  may  take  five  deep  breaths. 
And  you  should  use  the  spirometer  or  the  deep  breath- 
ing several  times  a  day  beside.  Whatever  enlarges 
your  chest,  will,  by  admitting  more  air,  increase  your 
vitality,  and  tend  to  remove  any  general  or  local  weak- 
ness. 

Do  not  forget  the  daily  walk  in  the  open,  cdi .  Make 
it  as  long  as  possible  without  fatigue.  Under  the 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES.  275 

proper  heading  this  subject  is  fully  discussed.  Who- 
ever undertakes  the  use  of  this  book,  is  advised  to  read 
it  all.  Every  chapter  contains  something  important  to 
you. 


Figure  1. 

No.  1.  Hold  the  dumb  bells  as  in  Fig.  1. 
Thumbs  outward.  Bells  exactly  horizontal.  Turn  the 
thumb  ends  of  the  bells  to  the  hips,  and  then  back 
again  to  the  position  shown  in  the  figure.  Repeat  10 
times.  Let  the  change  be  made  with  the  greatest  ac- 
curacy. When  it  is  well  done,  no  matter  which  end 
is  at  the  hip,  a  straight  rod  run  through  one  dumb- 
bell, lengthwise,  would  at  the  same  time  run  through 
the  centre  of  the  other. 

In  this  and  all  subsequent  dumb-bell  exercises,  the 
pupil  must  be  careful  not  to  bend  the  elbows.  When 


276  CONSUMPTION . 

exceptions  to  this  rule  occur,  they  will  be  plainly  indi- 
cated. 

No.  2.  Position  seen  in  Fig.  2.  Keep  the  elbows 
pressed  against  the  sides,  and  twist  the  bells  so  that 
the  ends  are  exactly  reversed.  Be  sure  they  are  ex- 
actly in  line  with  each  other,  and  the  forearms  parallel. 
Repeat  10  times. 


Figure  2.  Figure  3. 

No.  3.  In  passing  from  No.  2  to  No.  3,  bring  the 
bells  to  the  chest,  and  on  the  next  beat  to  the  position 
in  Fig.  3.  The  palms  of  the  hands  are  upward. 
Bells  exactly  horizontal  and  parallel  to  each  other. 
Turn  the  hands  over,  knuckles  upward.  Bells  now 
exactly  in  the  same  position  as  before.  Repeat  1C 
limes. 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


27? 


No.  4.  In  passing  from  No.  3  to  No.  4,  bring  the 
bulls  to  the  chest,  and  on  the  next  beat  to  the  position 
in  Fig.  4.  The  palms  forward.  Twist  the  bells  so 
the  knuckles  are  forward.  Repeat  10  times.  Arms  to 
be  kept  parallel  from  first  to  last. 


Figure  4. 


Figure  5. 


No.  5.  Position  as  in  Fig.  5.  In  passing  from 
No.  4  to  No.  5,  bring  the  bells  to  the  chest.  Twist 
the  arms  so  that  the  bells  are  exactly  reversed. 

It  wjll  be  seen  in  the  figure,  the  palms  are  upward. 
When  the  bells  are  reversed,  the  knuckles  are  upward. 
Keep  the  arms  parallel.  Repeat  10  times. 

In  passing  from  one  exercise  to  another,  I  have 
spoken  of  bringing  the  bells  to  the  chest.  They  should 
24 


278  CONSUMPTION. 

strike  the  chest  exactly  at  the  point  shown  hi  Fig.  6. 


Figure  6. 


No.  6.  Thrust  the  two  bells  down  by  the  side  of 
the  legs.  Bring  to  the  chest,  and  thrust  them  side- 
ways. Bring  to  the  chest,  and  thrust  them  upward. 
Bring  to  the  chest,  and  thrust  them  forward. 

Repeat  these  four  thrusts  3  times. 

When  the  down  thrust  is  made,  the  pupil  must  be 
careful  that  at  the  lowest  point  the  bells  are  precisely 
horizontal,  and  parallel  to  each  other.  When  the 
side  thrust  is  made,  the  arms  must  be  horizontal,  the 
bells  perpendicular  and  parallel  to  each  other.  When 
the  upward  thrust  is  made  the  arms  must  be  accurately 
perpendicular,  bells  parallel  and  horizontal. 

When  the  forward  thrust  is  executed  the  arms  must 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


279 


DC  exactly  horizontal,  and  the  bells  perpendicular  and 
parallel. 

I  speak  frequently  of  precision.  This  will  greatly 
increase  the  interest,  and  is  always  better  in  a  physio- 
logical point  of  view.  . 

No.  7.  Raise  the  right  hand  bell  from  the  side  of 
the  leg  into  the  arm-pit,  3  times.  (Fig.  7.)  Left, 
3  times.  Alternately  and  simultaneously,  3  times. 

Be  sure  that  each  time  when  the  bells  come  into  the 
arm-pits  they  are  exactly  horizontal. 


Fig.  7. 


No.  8.  Passing  from  No,  7  to  No.  8,  bring  the 
bells  to  the  chest ;  on  the  next  beat  to  the  top  of  the 
shoulders ;  on  the  next  beat  carry  up  the  right,  reach 


280 


CONSUMPTION. 


ing  accurately  as  high  as  you  can  reach.  Repeat  3 
limes.  Left,  the  same.  Alternately  and  simultane- 
ously, each  3  times. 

No.  9.  Passing  from  No.  8  to  No.  9,  bring  the 
bells  to  the  chest,  (the  dotted  lines  in  Fig.  8  show  it) 
then  down  by  the  sides,  in  all,  as  usual,  keeping  good 


Figure  8. 

time  to  the  music.  Now  carry  the  right  bell  to  the 
chest,  then  up,  reaching  the  position  shown  in  Fig.  8. 
Return  to  the  hip,,  marking  one  beat  on  the  chest  in 
going  down.  Repeat  5  times.  Left,  the  same.  Al- 
ternately and  simultaneously,  5  times. 


SPECIAL    EXERCISES. 


281 


No.  10.  Bring  the  bells  to  the  chest.  Strike  out 
the  right  one  in  front,  arm  precisely  horizontal,  bell 
perpendicular.  (Fig.  9.)  Repeat  5  times.  Left,  the 
same.  Alternately  and  simultaneously,  5  times. 

As  usual,  keep  the  chest  well  forward,  and  the 
shoulders  drawn  far  back. 


Figure  9. 


Figure  10. 


No.  11.  Holding  the  bells  in  the  position  seen  in 
Fig.  10,  bring  them  with  force  into  the  position  seen 
in  the  dotted  line,  5  times.  In  beginning  this  elbow 
thrust  backward,  it  is  well  to  first  raise  the  bells  a  foot, 
that  they  may  be  brought  back  with  more  force,  and 
more  directly  into  the  position  seen  in  the  dotted  lines. 
But  in  carrying  them  forward  again,  it  should  be  first 
into  the  position  seen  in  the  figure. 
24* 


282  CONSUMPTION. 

No.  12.  Lie  down  and  have  your  assistant  percuss 
you,  with  the  flats  of  his  hands,  upon  every  part  of 
the  body  and  limbs,  five  minutes. 


SECOND  WEEK. 


It  is  well  to  rest  one  day  of  each  week ;  so,  passing 
Sunday,  you  begin  on  Monday  morning  with  the 
wand. 

It  will  be  remembered  without  another  repetition,  that  all 
the  exercises  given  for  a  "  week,"  are  to  be  performed  every 
day  of  the  week,  except  Sunday. 

No.  1.  Divide  the  wand  into  three  equal  parts 
with  the  hands,  and  hold  it  as  represented  in  Fig.  1. 
Thrust  it  downward  close  by  the  legs  with  much  force, 
and  again  bring  it  to  the  chin,  holding  the  elbows 
high  as  seen  in  the  figure,  and  so  continue  5  times. 

No.  2.  From  the  position  seen  in  Fig.  1,  carry 
the  wand  directly  upward  as  high  as  you  can  reach, 
and  back  to  the  chin,  3  times. 

No.  3.  From  the  highest  position  m  No.  2,  bring 
the  wand  down  to  the  knees  and  back  again,  5  times 
without  bending  the  elbows. 


SPECIAL    EXERCISES. 


283 


No.  4.  Holding  the  wand  high  over  the  head, 
•ring  it  down  on  the  back  of  the  neck  5  times,  as  seen 
i  Fig.  2. 


284 


CONSUMPTION. 


No.  5.  Hands  over  the  head,  but  this  time  at  the 
ends  of  the  wand,  as  seen  in  Fig.  3,  and  now  bring  it 
down  behind  as  seen  in  Fig.  4,  5  times,  being  very 
careful  nol  to  bend  ike  elbows. 


Figure  3. 


Figure  4. 


No.  6.  Hold  the  wand  directly  over  the  head,  as 
in  Fig.  3,  hands  grasping  the  ends,  and  carry  it  from 
side  to  side  3  times,  on  either  side,  (Fig.  5)  being 
very  careful  not  to  bend  the  elbows,  and  yet  the 
wand  must  come  to  the  perpendicular  on  either  side. 

No  7.  Standing  erect;  heels  together;  put  the 
wand  out  with  your  right  hand  midway  between  two 
lines,  one  of  which  runs  directly  forward,  and  the 
other  at  right  angles  with  this,  at  your  side ;  which 


SPECIAL    EXERCISES. 


285 


direction  we  shall  call  diagonally  forward.  Let  the 
wand  rest  on  the  floor,  at  a  point  as  far  removed 
from  your  feet  as  possible,  keeping  your  body  and  the 
wand  perpendicular,  and  the  arm  horizontal.  The 


Figure  5. 


Figure  6. 


elbow  must  not  be  bent.  Step  out  as  seen  in 
6,  the  foot  passing  behind  the  wand,  as  seen  in  the 
figure.  In  doing  this  you  must  not  bend  the  elbow, 
nor  must  you  move  the  wand.  It  will  be  seen  that 
the  shoulders  scarcely  move,  the  motion  being  con- 
fined to  the  legs  and  lower  part  of  the  body.  Charge 
thus  5  times.  Same  with  the  left  arm  and  leg-. 


No.  8.     Standing  upright,  with  the  wand  held  hori- 
zontal  behind,   charge   out  with  the  right  foot,   then 


286 


CONSUMPTION. 


with  the  left,  and  so  on  alternately,  5  times  in  each 
direction.     The  exercise  is  well  shown  in  Fig.  7. 


Figure  7.  Figure  8. 

No.  9.  Your  assistant  puts  his  hands  upon  your 
shoulders,  and  resists  hard ;  you  rise  to  the  toes,  as 
shown  in  the  dotted  lines,  (-Fig.  8,)  10  times. 

No.  10.  Place  your  hands  upon  your  sides  with 
your  elbows  in  the  position  seen  in  Fig.  9.  Your 
assistant  seizes  your  elbows.  Now  you  draw  your 
elbows  toward  each  other  behind,  5  times ;  your  as- 
sistant resists.  He  draws  them  together  5  times,  and 
you  resist.  This  must  be  done  gently. 

No.  11.     Hold  your-  arms  by  the  side  as  shown  in 


SPECIAL    EXERCISES. 


287 


Figure  9. 


Fig.    10.     Your  assistant  grasps  the  outside  of  the 


Fig. 10 


288  CONSUMPTION. 

elbows.     Carry  your  arms  up  as  in  the  dotted  lines,  5 
times  ;  assistant  resists. 

No.  12.  Have  your  entire  person,  including  your 
limbs,  gently  percussed  during  five  or  six  minutes, 
always  with  your  assistant's  flat  hands. 


THIRD  WEEK. 


The  "  ring"  it  will  be  remembered,  is  a  sim- 
ple wooden  ring,  turned  by  any  wood-turner.  If  a 
round  bar  of  iron,  an  inch  in  diameter,  were  made  into 
a  ring  which  should  be  six  inches  across,  from  outside 
to  outside,  it  would  be  in  form  and  size  exactly  like 
the  wooden  gymnastic  ring.  If  polished  in  the  lathe 
very  smooth,  with  shellac,  it  will  never  hurt  the  hand. 
The  exercises  with  the  gymnastic  ring  are  exceedingly 
valuable. 

No.  1.  Standing  in  the  position  represented  in  Fig. 
1,  the  end  of  the  right  toe  against  the  right  toe  of 
your  partner  ;  pull  hard,  and  twist  the  right  arm  hard 
from  right  to  left,  and  left  to  right  10  times,  keeping 
time  to  the  music. 

Be  careful  in  this,  as  in  all  other  exercises  with  the 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


289 


Fig.  1. 

ring,  to  draw  the  shoulders  well  back  and  keep  the 
head  erect.     Same  with  the  left  hand  and  foot. 

No.  2.  Join  both  hands  with  two  rings,  and  place 
the  right  toe  against  your  partner's  right  toe,  as  in 
No.  1,  being  sure  to  keep  the  foot  which  is  behind,  at 
right  angles  with  the  one  in  front,  (which  I  may  say 
here,  is  to  be  looked  after  with  much  care  through 
this  whole  series,  whenever  it  is  possible,)  then  pull 
hard,  and  twist  the  arms  5  times,  keeping  time  to  the 
music.  Same,  with  left  foot  forward. 


No.  3.     Without  letting  go  the  rings,  turn  back  to 
back,  place  the  outside  of  your  left  foot  against  the 
same  of  your  partner,  in  the  same  way  you  would  push 
25 


200 


CONSUMPTION. 


against  the  wall  of  the  room,  and  pulling  hard  in  the 
position  represented  in  Fig.  2,  twist  hard  5  times, 
keeping  time  to  the  music.  Change  your  feet,  and 
repeat. 


Figure  2. 


Figure  3. 


No.  4.  Standing,  as  shown  in  Fig.  3,  about  twc 
feet  from  your  partner,  place  the  rings  in  the  position 
shown.  Now  as  the  arms  on  one  side  rise,  the  arms 
on  the  other  side  fall,  keeping  time  to  the  music.  Be 
careful  not  to  bend  the  arms  at  the  elbows,  which  of 
course  can  be  prevented  in  this  as  in  many  other  exer- 
cises, by  carrying  the  hands  outward  at  the  side.  In 
this  exercise  some  force  may  be  used,  so  that  when 
the  ring  is  carried  up,  it  goes  far  beyond  the  perpen- 
dicular line,  the  bodies  of  the  players  bending  freely. 


SPECIAL    EXERCISES.  291 

The  arms  may  go  up  on  either  side  10  times.     And 
last,  the   arms  may  all  go  up  simultaneously. 


Figii'e  4.  Figure  5. 

No.  5.  Back  to  back,  as  seen  in  Fig.  4;  thrust 
the  rings  up  with  force,  each  player  keeping  his  two 
arms  exactly  parallel ;  5  times. 

No.  6.  From  the  same  position,  seen  in  Fig.  4, 
thrust  the  rings  out  sidewise  5  times. 

No.  7.  Take  the  position  seen  in  Fig.  5  ;  your 
partner  the  same.  The  inside  of  your  left  foot  to  the 
inside  of  his  left.  Draw  your  left  hand  as  far  back 
past  your  left  side  as  possible,  dragging  your  partner's 
right  hand  after  it.  At  the  same  time  he  has  done  the 


292 


CONSUMPTION. 


same  thing  with  his  left.  Do  the  same  with  your  right 
hands.  And  so  continue  to  alternate.  Do  this  gently 
10  times. 


Figure  6.  Figure  7. 

No.  8.  Assistant,  standing  behind  the  patient, 
grasps  his  hands.  (Fig.  6.)  Patient  draws  up  the 
hands,  as  shown  in  the  dotted  lines,  assistant  resisting. 
Patient  forces  his  hands  back  again  to  the  first  position, 
assistant  resisting.  Repeat  5  times. 

No.  9.  Assistant,  standing  behind  the  patient, 
who  is  seated,  grasps  his  uplifted  hands.  Patient 
draws  down  the  hands,  as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines, 
assistant  resisting.  Patient  forces  the  hands  back  to 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


293 


the  first  position,  assistant  resisting.     Eepeat  3  times. 
(Fig.  7.) 

No.  10.  You  thrust  your  right  arm  out  at  the  side ; 
your  assistant  seizes  by  the  wrist  and  shoulder.  You 
flex  the  forearm,  keeping  the  elbow  downward,  as 
shown  in  the  dotted  lines.  Assistant  resists,  you  push 
out  again  ;  he  resists.  Repeat  5  times.  (Fig.  8.) 


figure  8. 


No.  11.     Hold  your  arms  in  front,  horizontal,  hands 
touching.     Assistant  stands  behind  you,  and  places  his 
hands  upon  the  outside  of  your  arms,  near  the  wrists. 
25* 


294 


CONSUMPTION. 


Now  carry  your  arms  backward  in  the  horizontal  plane, 
without  bending  the  elbows,  until  they  are  as  far  back 


.  9. 


as  you  can  carry  them,  your  assistant  resisting, 
peat  5  times.     (Fig.  9.) 


Re- 


No.  12.  Sitting  on  a  stool  and  bending  forward, 
your  assistant  standing  behind  you  and  placing  his  open 
hands  upon  the  back  of  your  shoulders,  you  raise  your- 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


295 


self  to  the  perpendicular ;  assistant  resisting.     Repeat 
5  times.     (Fig.  10.) 


Flpure  10. 


Lie  down  and  have  your  assistant  percuss  your  en- 
tire person,  including  legs  and  arms.  This  week  it 
may  be  done  10  minutes,  and  the  blows  may  be  much 
harder.  Let  the  blows  during  this,  as  during  the  pre- 
vious weeks,  be  about  equally  distributed  over  every 
part. 


296  CONSUMPTION. 


FOURTH  WEEK. 


We  begin  this  week  with  the  club.  Under  the 
heading  "  Apparatus  for  Special  Exercise"  the  size  for 
both  men  and  women  were  given. 


Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that,  in  every  exercise  with  the 
clubs,  where  it  is  2)ossible,  the  right  arm  performs  the  feat 
fast,  then  the  left,  then  the  two  arms  alternately,  and  last 
of  all  simultaneously.  In  each  case  the  feat  is  to  be  exe- 
cuted 5  times. 


If  you  would  be  deeply  interested  in  the  club  exer- 
cises, do  everything  with  the  greatest  precision.  If 
you  hold  the  club  horizontal,  let  it  be  exactly  horizontal ; 
if  perpendicular,  exactly  perpendicular.  If  you  enjoy 
the  advantage  of  music,  let  the  time  for  the  clubs  be 
very  slow. 


No.   1.    The  clubs  hang  at  the  sides,  each  hand 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


297 


grasping  firmly,  being  careful  not  to  push  the  index 
finger  toward  the  body  of  the  club,  but  keep  it  close 
with  the  rest  of  the  hand.  First  raise  the  right  arm, 
as  the  left  is  represented  in  Fig.  1,  5  times.  Same 
with  the  left.  Then  alternately  and  simultaneously, 
each  5  times. 


No.  2.  Raise  the  right  arm  and  club,  as  represented 
in  Fig.  1.  Left  the  same,  then  alternately  and  sim- 
ultaneously, each  5  times. 


Flf.  I/ 


No.  3.  Holding  the  right  as  the  left  is  represented 


298 


in  Fig.  2,  carry  it  directly  upward  until  it  is  perpen- 
dicular.    Left  the  same,  etc. . 


Fig.  *. 


No.  4.  Holding  the  right  as  it  is  represented  in  Fig. 
1,  cany  it  directly  upward,  sideways,  until  it  is  per- 
pendicular. Left  the  same,  etc. 

No.  5.  Right  club  should  hang  by  the  right  leg. 
Carry  it  upward  directly  in  front ,  until  it  is  perpendic- 
ular over  the  shoulder.  Left  the  same,  etc. 

No.  6.  Right  club  hangs  by  the  side  of  the  right  leg . 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


299 


Carry  it  directly  upward,  sidewise  until  perpendicular 
over  the  shoulder.     Left  the  same,  etc. 

No.  7.  Hold  the  two  clubs  as  the  left  is  represented 
in  Fig.  2,  without  moving  the  arms,  but  simply  by 
bending  the  wrist,  and  with  a  slow  motion  lay  the 
right  club  down  on  its  own  arm.  As  it  is  carried 
back,  bring  the  left  one  down,  and  then  work  the  two 
simultaneously. 

No.  8.  Arms  horizontal  in  front,  clubs  perpendicu- 
lar. Now  carry  the  two  arms  in  the  horizontal  plane, 
without  bending  the  elbows,  backward  as  far  as  possi- 
ble. (Fig.  3.)  Halting,  touch  the  farther  ends  of  the 


Fif .  S. 


300  CONSUMPTION. 

zlubs  on  the  back  of  the  neck.  Carry  them  out  again 
to  the  position  seen  in  Fig.  3.  Now  let  the  farther 
ends  of  the  clubs  touch  at  the  nose.  Carry  them  back 
again  to  Fig.  3.  position.  Let  them  fall  backward,  so 
that  they  hang  down  vertically,  (Fig.  4,)  but  without 


fig.  4. 

moving  the  arms  other  than  with  a  twisting  motion. 
In  this  the  hands  must  not  be  allowed  to  give  way  on  the 
handle \  but  must  grasp  firmly.  To  reach  this  vertical 
position  of  the  clubs  as  they  fall  behind,  it  is  necessary 
to  bend  the  back  considerably.  Raise  the  clubs  again 
to  Fig.  3  position,  and  allow  them  to  fall  again,  but 
this  time  forward,  and  until  they  reach  the  vertical  po- 
sition. Thus  alternate  between  the  fall  backward  and 
forward,  5  times,  and  end  by  bringing  the  clubs  to  the 
hanging  position  by  the  side  of  the  legs. 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


301 


No.  9.  Hold  the  clubs  as  represented  in  Fig.  5. 
Carry  their  farther  ends  directly  upward  as  far  as  you 
can  reach  them,  and  let  them  fall  behind  upon  the 
shoulder  blades.  Thus  alternate  5  times. 

No.  10.  Beginning  with  the  clubs  as  seen  in  Fig.  5, 
but  with  the  other  end  of  the  clubs  up,  thrust  the  arms 
upwards  and  side  wise,  as  seen  in  Fig.  6,  and  bringing 


Fig.  5. 


Fig.  6. 


them  close  down  by  the  legs  in  front,  carry  them  com- 
pletely around  the  back,  letting  them  fall  down  as  f  u 
as  possible,  and  bring  them  to  the  chest,  in  the  begin- 
ning position ;  thrust  them  up  and  out  on  the  other 
26 


302  CONSUMPTION. 

side  of  the  body,  and  carry  them  around  the  body  the 
other  way.     Alternate  5  times. 

No.    11.     Holding    the    clubs    as    represented   in 
Fig.  7,  one  exactly  hi  front,  the  other  behind,  and 


fig.  7. 


both  horizontal ;  carry  them  directly  upward,  and  as 
they  pass  each  other  over  the  head  they  should  be  not 
more  than  one  foot  apart.  Upon  reaching  the  hori- 
zontal, the  clubs,  as  will  be  seen,  are  exactly  reversed. 
Be  careful  in  this  exercise  not  to  bend  the  elbows  or 
wrista. 

No.  12.  Holding  the  body,  arms,  and  clubs,  as  seen 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


303 


in  Fig.  8,  reverse  the  arms  5  times.     If  elbows  or 
wrists  be  bent  the  exercise  is  lost. 


No.  13.  Your  assistant  presses  hard  on  your  shoul- 
ders while  you  are  sitting  down,  slowly  (Fig.  9),  and 
!intil  you  rise  again  to  the  standing  position,  5  times. 


Figure  9. 


304 


CONSUMPTION. 


No.  14.  Step  over  the  wand,  backward  and  forward, 
with  each  foot,  3  times,  holding  the  wand  in  the 
hands.  (Fig.  10.) 


Fly.  10. 

No.  15.  Swing  the  foot  and  body,  as  shown  in  the 
dotted  lines  (Fig.  11),  ten  times.  Give  each  foot  the 
same  exercise. 


No.  16.  Circle  the  shoulder,  as  seen  in  the  dotted 
lines  (Fig.  12),  allowing  the  arms  to  hang  by  the  side. 
First  one  shoulder,  then  the  other,  then  alternately  and 
simultaneously,  5  times.  It  is  well  to  make  the  circle 
in  both  ways. 

No.  17.  Circle  the  head  and  shoulders,  as  seen  in 
the  dotted  line  (Fig.  13) ,  5  times  each  way. 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


305 


Figure  11. 


.Figure  12. 


Figun  IS. 


26' 


30G 


CONSUMPTION. 


No.  18.  Perform  the  exercise  indicated  in  Fig.  14, 
5  times  with  one  foot  forward,  and  the  same  with  the 
other. 

As  before,  conclude  each  day's  exercise  with  percus- 
sion. Direct  your  assistant  to  percuss  your  back,  ab- 
domen and  chest,  thoroughly.  It  is  less  necessary 
now  to  percuss  the  limbs. 


F!f .  14. 


FIFTH  WEEK. 


You  have  been  at  work  four  weeks.     You  are  much 

m 

improved.     I  am  sure  of  this  if  you  have  followed  the 
directions ;  especially  those  which  refer  to  the  manner 


SPECIAL    EXERCISES.  307 

of  performing  the  exercises.  The  rules  which  I  gave 
in  introducing  these  exercises,  some  pages  back,  are 
all  important ;  but  those  in  which  I  caution  you 
against  hurry  and  fatigue  deserve  your  particular  at- 
tention. 

I  shall  give  you  no  new  exercises  for  the  fifth  week, 
but  instead,  will  advise  you  to  select  from  those  which 
you  have  performed  during  the  last  four  weeks,  such 
as  have  proved  most  pleasant  to  you,  and  such  as  you 
are  conscious,  touch  your  weak  places. 

You  must  work  with  deliberation,  and  stop  short  of 
fatigue.  That  hurry  which  makes  you  pant  for  breath 
is  very  unwise.  The  processes  of  growth  are  slow,  and 
you  might  as  well  study  books  until  your  brain  is  ach- 
ing and  inflamed  with  the  hope  of  strengthening  your 
mind,  as  to  work  your  muscles  until  they  are  fatigued 
and  sore  with  the  hope  of  improving  the  body. 

You  cannot  be  too  careful  about  taking  cold  after 
your  exercise.  You  should  at  once  dress  warmly,  and 
lie  down  for  an  hour  or  two.  I  repeat,  that  such  rest 
afterward  will  double  the  benefit  of  the  work. 

I  hope  you  find  it  convenient  to  take  your  regular 
work  about  the  middle  of  the  forenoon.  I  told  you  in 
the  beginning,  if  this  is  not  convenient,  the  next  best 
time  is  early  in  the  morning,  and  the  next  best  time  is 
about  seven  or  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening. 


308  CONSUMPTION. 


SIXTH  WEEK. 

If  you  are  in  earnest,  you  have  obtained  a  Pangym- 
nastiJcon,  either  by  sending  to  me  for  it,  or  by  making 
one  yourself.  It  is  a  most  important  piece  of  appara- 
tus, and  with  a  good  Spirometer  makes  almost  a  com- 
plete gymnasium.  To  every  one  in  your  house  this 
German  invention  will  furnish  good  means  for  general 
muscle-culture. 

If  you  have  studied  the  Pangymnastikon,  you  have 
observed  that  the  hand-rings  can  be  raised  or  lowered  to 
any  desired  height.  So  you  may  use  it  for  a  swing, 
suspending  yourself  by  your  hands.  .This  is  a  most 
invaluable  exercise  for  persons  with  drooping  shoul- 
ders. For  at  least  a  hundred  years  past,  eminent  med- 
ical men  have,  from  time  to  time,  spoken  of  the  happy 
influence  of  swinging  (suspended  by  the  hands)  upon 
drooping,  weak  chests.  In  the  beginning  of  consump- 
tion it  is  invaluable. 

I  have  told  you  that  the  Pangymnastikon  affords  op- 
portunity for  107  exercises.  In  my  former  work, 
"New  Gymnastics,"  by  Ticknor  and  Fields,  the  107 
cuts  illustrating  these  exercises  all  appear.  I  select 
for  this  work  a  few  of  those  which  are  of  peculiar 
value  to  consumptives. 


SPECIAL    EXERCISES. 


309 


No.   1.     SHOULDER   SWING,  forward   and   backward, 
four,  six,  or  eight  times. 

Rings  at  the  height  of  the  head.  The  swing  motion 
is  obtained  by  springing  from  the  floor,  and  a  contin- 
ued effort  of  the  legs.  (Fig.  1.) 


Figure  1. 


No.  2.     ELBOW  SWING,  forward  and  backward,  fout 
eight,  or  twelve  times. 

Kings  high  enough  for  the  body  to  hang  straight, 


310 


CONSUMPTION. 


the  body  being  supported  by  the  elbows.     (Fig.  2.) 
Swing  the  same  as  in  Fig.  1. 

No.   3.     HAND   SWING,  forward  and  backward,  four 
eight,  or  twelve  times. 

Rings  so  high  that  the  feet  will  not  touch  in  swing- 
ing; with  the  arms  straight.      (Fig.  3.) 


figure  2. 


Figure  3. 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


311 


No.   4.     HAND    SWING    SIDEWISE,  four,  eighty  or 
twelve  times. 

Rings  same  as  in  the  last.  The  swinging  which  is 
side  wise,  is  carried  on  by  efforts  of  the  legs  and  arms. 
This  exercise  operates  happily  by  enlarging  the  chest. 
(Fig.  4.) 


Figure  4. 


312 


CONSUMPTION. 


No.  5.     STANDING  INCLINATION,  forward  and  back' 
ward,  two,  four,  or  eight  times. 

Rings  as  high  as  the  chest.  Seize  the  rings  as 
shown  in  the  cut.  The  feet  remain  at  one  place,  sim- 
ply turning  on  the  toes  as  the  person  falls  forward, 
and  on  the  heels  as  he  falls  backward.  In  falling  for- 
ward it  is  well,  for  beginners  especially,  to  keep  the 
arms  in  the  attitude  seen  in  the  cut.  (Fig.  5.)  The 
less  must  not  be  bent. 


/    -» 


Figure  j. 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


313 


No.  6.  TUNNEL  CIRCLING  with  Hand  Grasp,  two, 
four,  or  six  times. 

Rings  at  the  height  of  the  shoulder.  The  rings 
being  taken  in  the  hands,  the  circle  is  larger  and  the 
muscular  exertion  greater.  The  lower  the  rings  are 
placed,  the  greater  will  be  the  muscular  exertion. 
The  body  must  not  be  allowed  to  turn  upon  its  axis. 
The  arms  must  be  kept  bent  just  as  seen  in  the  cut, 
except  at  the  extreme  backward  inclination,  where 
they  may  be  allowed  to  stretch  out  at  their  full  length 
for  a  moment.  As  in  all  other  similar  exercises,  the 
circling  must  be  the  same  number  of  times  each  way. 
(  Fig.  Q.} 


27 


Figure  t>. 


314 


CONSUMPTION. 


This  exercise  is  a  particularly  valuable  one,  and 
may  be  done  every  day  for  months.  No  possible 
exercise  will  do  more  to  break  up  all  rigidity  in  the 
intercostal  muscles,  and  thus  produce  a  free  action  of 
the  ribs. 

No.  7.  Your  assistant  takes  your  thigh  on  his 
knee,  and  bends  the  leg  down  as  seen  in  the  dotted 
line  ;  (Fig.  7)  you  resist.  Each  leg  5  times. 


Figure  7. 

No.  8.  Lock  your  hands  on  the  back  of  your 
head.  Sit  upright.  (Fig.  8.)  Assistant  seizes  you 
by  the  elbows,  and  twists  you  from  side  to  side,  5 
times  ;  you  resist.  It  is  well  to  have  straps  nailed  on 
the  floor,  under  which  you  push  your  toes. 


SPECIAL  EXERCISES. 


315 


No.  9.     Hold  up  one  arm  perpendicular  over  the 
shoulder.     Assistant  seizes  it.     (Fig.  9.)     You  draw 
your   fist   down   to   your   shoulder ;  assistant  resists. 
Now  force  it  back ;    assistant  resists ;    5  times  each 
arm. 


Figure  8. 


Hgure  9. 


No.  10.     Keeping  your  arm  in  the  same  position, 
turn  the  forearm  down  to  the  position  of  the  dotted 


S16 


CONSUMPTION. 


lines ;  (Fig.  10,)  assistant  resists.  Force  it  back  to 
the  place  of  beginning ;  assistant  resists.  Each  arm 
5  times. 


Figure  10. 


No.  11.  Holding  your  arm  in  the  horizontal  posi- 
tion, assistant  will  force  your  hand  up  and  down ; 
(fig.  11,)  you  resist.  Now  he  will  force  it  side- 
ways ;  you  resist.  Each  hand,  both  ways*  3  times. 

No.  12.  Assistant  will  force  your  head  and  shoul- 
ders around  in  a  circle  ;  (Fig.  12,)  you  resist.  Each 
way,  5  times. 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


317 


figure  11. 


27' 


Figure  18. 


318 


CONSUMPTION. 


No.  13.  Assistant  twists  the  arm  in  the  shape  of  a 
tunnel ;  (Fig.  13,)  you  resist.  Each  arm,  both  ways, 
5  times. 


/  *•> 


Fig-ure  13. 

•No.  14.  Raise  your  arms  perpendicular  over  the 
shoulders ;  assistant  seizes  by  the  wrists ;  he  forces 
you  from  side  to  side,  (Fig.  14,)  while  you  keep  your 
arms  in  the  same  relations  with  your  head.  Each  way 
3  times.  In  this  exercise  you  will  be  obliged  to  keep 
your  toes  under  the  straps. 

Have  the  exercises  for  the  sixth  week  closed  every 


SPECIAL    EXERCISES. 


319 


day  by  a  thorough  percussion  over  every  part  of  tha 
body. 


Figure  U. 


SEVENTH  WEEK. 


We  now  enter  the  last  half  of  the  second  month. 
If  you  have  been  a  faithful  pupil,  you  are  much  better. 
Of  course,  if  you  are  in  earnest,  you  have  read  the 
first  part  of  this  work,  in  which  ventilation,  sunshine, 


320  CONSUMPTION. 

dress,, diet,  etc.,  are  discussed ;  and  you  have  faithfully 
regarded  the  advice  there  given.  If  you  neglect  all 
these  vital  laws  of  health,  exercising  an  hour  each  day 
will  not  cure  "you.  "Ah,"  you  say,  "  but  am  I  to 
give  up  all  my  time  to  repairing  my  health  ?  "  Cer- 
tainly you  must,  if  it  is  necessary,  but  then  you  over- 
rate the  trouble  which  all  this  attention  to  air,  food, 
bathing,  &c.,  will  give  you.  I  do,  in  the  most  thor- 
ough manner,  every  day,  all  that  I  ask  you  to  do,  and 
it  does  not  occupy  my  attention  ten  minutes.  I  trust 
you  are  not  one  of  the  slaves  of  appetite  and  indolence, 
willing  to  sacrifice  every  thing  for  momentary  gratifi- 
cation, and  nothing  for  your  higher  nature  and  perma- 
nent good. 

Presuming  that  you  are  sincere  and  hearty  in  your 
efforts  to  recover  your  health,  I  will  go  on.  If  this 
series  is  too  long,  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  stop  before 
you  get  tired. 

And,  first,  a  few  more  dumb-bell  exercises. 

No.  1.  Charge  diagonally  forward,  rising  on  the 
toe  behind,  and  reaching  forward  as  far  as  possible, 
(Fig.  1,)  thrust  the  dumb-bells  alternately  forward, 
as  far  as  you  can  reach,  5  times.  Simultaneously 
the  same  number  of  times  both  sides. 


SPECIAL  EXERCISES. 


321 


Fig.  1. 


No.  2.  After  stamping,  the  pupil  should  charge 
in  the  manner  illustrated  in  Fig.  2.  Sink  5  times. 
Same  on  the  left  side.  In  this,  as  in  Fig.  1,  the 
charging  Is  exactly  sideways. 


Figure 


322 


CONSUMPTION. 


No.  3.  Assuming  the  position  seen  in  Fig.  3, 
force  back  the  right  arm,  as  seen  in  the  dotted  line,  5 
times.  Left  the  same^  Alternately  and  simultane- 
ously, 5  times.  The  arm  must  not  be  bent  at  the  elbow. 


Fig.  3. 

No.  4.  Having  the  arms  extended  at  the  sides,  aa 
shown  in  fig.  4,  raise  the  right  arm  to  the  position 
seen  in  the  dotted  line,  5  times.  Left  the  same.  Al- 
ternately and  simultaneously,  5  times. 

No.  5.  As  in  nearly  all  other  exercises,  begin  with 
the  heels  together,  body  erect,  chest  forward,  shoul- 
ders back,  arms  hanging,  dumb-bells  horizontal  and 
parallel  to  each  other.  Step  diagonally  backward  with 
the  right  foot,  as  seen  in  Fig.  5,  and  thrust  the  arms 
up  alternately  and  simultaneously,  5  times. 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


323 


Figure  5. 


324 


CONSUMPTION. 


In  this  exercise  the  forward  leg  is  kept  straight,  that 
behind  is  bent  as  much  as  possible. 

No.  6.  Standing  erect,  arms  hanging,  bring  the 
bells  to  the  chest,  then  to  the  floor,  as  shown  in  the 
dotted  line  in  Fig.  6 ;  then  rising,  bring  the  dumb 
bells  again  to  the  chest,  and  on  the  next  beat  thrust 
them  as  far  upward  as  possible,  rising  on  the  toes ; 
then  back  to  the  chest.  Repeat  5  times. 

No.  7.  Standing  erect,  arms  hanging,  cany  the 
arms  to  the  horizontal  in  front ;  then  to  the  position 
over  the  head  seen  in  Fig.  1 ;  now  down  to  the  hori- 


Figure  6. 


Figure  7.  _ 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


325 


zontal  again,  and  then  to  the  floor  as  seen  in  the  dot- 
ted line.     Repeat  5  times. 

In  this  exercise  there  must  be  no  bending  at  the  knees  or 
elbows. 


No.  8.     CHEST  STRETCHED   POSITION,  during  two, 
four,  or  six  inhalations. 


Rings  one  foot  from  the  floor.  Grasp  from  the  out- 
side, as  shown  in  the  cut,  arms  exactly  perpendicular. 
Legs  straight,  supported  on  the  points  of  the  toes. 
The  rope  must  touch  the  shoulder.  One  hand  can 
be  lifted,  and  the  weight  of  the  body  supported  by 
one  hand,  though  this  exercise  belongs  to  the  second 
series.  (-Fig.  8.) 


28 


Figure  8. 


326 
No.  9. 


CONSUMPTION. 


SIDE     STRETCH  POSITION. 
four,  or  six  inhalations. 


During  two, 


Ring  still  one  foot  from  the  floor.  The  hand  seizes 
the  ring  on  the  outside  with  the  spoke  grasp,  the  rope 
touching  the  front  of  the  shoulder.  Arm  exactly  per- 
pendicular. Body  otherwise  just  as  represented. 
(Fig.  9.) 


Figure  9. 


No.   10.     SUPPORT   HANG,  during  two,  four,  or  six 
inhalations. 

Rings  as  high  as  the  breast.  Hands  take  hold  from 
the  outside  with  the  support  grasp.  With  a  little 
spring  the  body  can  be  lifted  into  the  position  seen  in 


SPECIAL,   EXERCISES. 


327 


the  cut.  Beginners,  with  but  little  muscle,  had  better 
hang  the  rings  no  higher  than  the  abdomen.  Back 
straight  and  rigid.  Chest  arched  forward.  Feet 
locked.  Body  held  still.  (Fig.  10.) 


Fig.  10. 


No.  11.     SIDE  HANGING,  with  lending  of  the  Hipt, 
two,  four,  or  six  times. 

Height  of  the  ring  and  position  of  the  two  arms, 
the  feet  and  the  hips,  are  well  shown.     The  hips  are 


328 


CONSUMPTION. 


drawn  upward  and  allowed  to  fall,  as  suggested  In  the 
dotted  line.  (Fig.  11.) 


Figure  11. 


No.   12.      PERPENDICULAR     FOOT    BENDING    AND 
STRETCHING,  from  the  Shoulder  Hang,  eight, 
twelve,  or  sixteen  times. 

Rings  as  high  as  the  head.  Place  the  arms  firmly 
in  position  and  hold  the  body  still.  Toes  are  stretched 
down  as  near  the  floor  as  possible,  and  drawn  up  near 
the  ankle.  (Fig.  12.) 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


No.    13.     LEG    TWISTING,  from   the  Shoulder  Hang, 
eight,  twelve,  or  sixteen  times. 

Position  same  as  in  the  last.     Turn  the  toes  slowly 
and  vigorously  outward  and  inward.      (Fig.  13.) 


Figure   13. 


No.  14.    HORIZONTAL  LEG  RAISING,  from  t/ic  Shoul- 
der Hang,  (ivo,  four,  or  six  times. 


Rings,  hands,  and  body  in  the  same  position  as  in 

28* 


330 


CONSUMPTION. 


Fig.  14.  The  legs  are  kept  perfectly  straight,  and 
they  are  raised  as  shown  in  the  figure  where  they  are 
held  for  a  moment. 


No.  15.     SUSPENSION  from  Spread  Arms,  six,  eight, 
or  ten  inhalations. 


Rings  side  wise,  high  enough  to  suspend  the  body 
from  them.  Head  erect ;  back  straight ;  legs  straight 
and  close  together;  feet  at  right  angles.  (Fig.  15. ) 


SPECIAL   EXEECISES. 


331 


fig.  15. 


No,  16.     SWINGING  IN   STIRRUPS,  four,  eight,  or 
ticelve  times. 


Rings  as  high  as  the  waist  *r  chest.     Support  grasp 


332 


CONSUMPTION. 


from  the  Inside.      Swing  as  upon  any  ordinary  swing, 
when  standing. {Fig.  16.) 


**\\ 
^ 

V& 
»*A 

\\\\ 


0te 

!•  r       >^ «. 

V*^ 

np\ 

/  a          *& 


ffto/J   N 

\7        -^     »'  XV 


No.  17.  Placing  your  hands  on  your  sides,  press 
your  elbows  as  near  together  {Fig.  17)  behind  as  you 
can  10  times. 

No.  18.  Separating  the  feet  as  shown  in  Fig.  18, 
touch  the  floor  5  times  without  bendino-  the  knees.  In 

O 

carrying  the  arms  upward  reach  them  every  time  as 
high  over  the  head  as  you  can. 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


333 


figure  17. 


Figure  18. 


334 


CONSUMPTION. 


No.  19.  Swing  the  right  arm  in  a  large  circle. 
Then  the  left.  Then  alternately  and  simultaneously. 
Each  5  times.  (Fig.  19.) 


Figure  19. 


No.  20.  Support  yourself  thus  (Fig.  20.)  upon 
two  chairs  or  stools,  while  you  are  counting  fifty. 

This  may  be  ended  like  the  exercises  of  the  last 
week,  with  vigorous  percussion  over  every  part  of  the 
person.  Have  the  blows  directed,  in  considerable 
part,  to  the  chest,  both  behind  and  in  front. 

If  there  is  a  tender  place    about  the  chest,  have 


SPECIAL    EXERCISES.  335 

many  blows  hit  that  place.  And  if  the  soreness  be 
not  produced  by  tubercje  or  lesion  within,  the  percus- 
sion will  soon  remove  it. 


Figure  60. 


EIGHTH  WEEK. 

As  I  advised  you  before,  the  spirometer  should  be 
used  just  before  beginning  the  other  exercises.  I 
know  of  nothing  which  so  completely  opens  the  air- 
cells,  and  prepares  the  lungs  for  those  full  inspirations 
which  are  so  important  in  the  subsequent  exercises. 
A  very  good  substitute  for  the  spirometer,  though  by 
no  means  equal  to  it,  is  the  practice  of  standing  by  the 
open  window,  or  out  in  the  open  air,  and  taking  sev- 
eral deep  inspirations. 

No.  1.  Back  to  back,  touching  each  other's  heels. 
Each  lunges  out  in  the  direction  the  toe  points,  the  feet 
being  at  rio-ht  angles,  and  raises  the  hands  over  the 


386 


CONSUMPTION. 


head  so  they  u»ach,  thus  reaching  the  position  seen  in 
Fig.  1.  Now  back,  heels  together,  arms  at  the  side, 
lunge  out  with  the  left  feet  in  the  same  way,  and  thus 
alternate,  keeping  time  to  the  music. 

No.  2.  Standing  as  represented  in  Fig.  2,  your 
partner  the  same,  with  the  inside  of  his  left  foot  to  the 
inside  of  your  left  foot,  and  holding  the  rings  as  shown 
in  the  figure,  push  them  vigorously  toward  your  part- 
ner, simultaneously  thrusting  them  past  his  body  as 
far  as  possible.  He  pushes  them  back  in  the  same 
manner,  and  so  on. 


Figure  1. 


Figure  2. 


No.  3.     Same  as  the  last,  except  the  right  foot  is 
pushed  forward,  instead  of  the  left. 

No.  4.     Stand  back  to  back,  heels  all  together; 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 

both  step  out  sidewise  in  the  same  direction  as  far  as 
you  can  reach,  and  at  the  same  instant  raise  the  hands 
on  the  same  side  as  high  as  you  can,  then  returning  to 
the  upright  position,  hands  by  your  sides,  charge  out 
at  the  other  side  in  a  similar  manner.  When  this  has 
been  done  both  ways,  as  in  every  other  exercise,  10 
times,  you  continue  to  charge  sideways  as  before,  only 
in  opposite  directions  as  represented  in  Fig.  3. 


Figure  3. 


No.   4.     Standing   face   to   face,    two   feet   apart, 
charge  sideways  as  in  the  last  exercise,  and  as  seen  in 
29 


338 


CONSUMPTION. 


Fig"  4.  In  alternation  with  this,  charge  the  opposite 
way.  After  the  regular  number  of  times,  you  charga 
out  sideways  with  your  right  feet  in  opposite  ways,  as 
seen  in  Fig.  5  ;  alternate  with  the  left  feet. 


Figure  5. 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


339 


No.  5.  Joining  only  with  your  right  hands,  and 
standing  apart  far  enough  to  make  the  arms  straight 
and  horizontal  between  you,  charge  as  seen  in  Fig.  6  ; 
the  left  hand  and  foot  the  same. 

No.  6.  Stand,  each  with  his  own  heels  together, 
as  seen  in  Fig.  7,  and  perform  the  exercise  exhibited 
in  the  figure.  As  the  hands  on  one  side  go  up,  the 
hands  on  the  other  go  down.  So  alternate  the  regular 
number  of  times,  when  you  will  do  the  same  simulta- 
neously, the  hands  on  both  sides  rising  and  falling 
together. 


Figure  6. 


Figure  7. 


340 


CONSUMPTION. 


No.    7.     STIRRUP   STANDING  INCLINATION,   in    the 
Elbow  Hang,  four  six,  or  eight  limes. 

Standing  in  the  stirrups,  the  rings  are  placed  as 
high  as  the  shoulder.  Arms  as  seen  in  the  cut.  The 
body  is  thrown  vigorously  forward  and  backward. 
(Fig.  8.) 


Figure  8. 

No.  8     SITTING  DOWN  IN  THE  STIRRUPS,  two,  four, 
or  six  times. 

Standing   in  the  stirrups,  the  rings  are  placed  as 


SPECIAL    EXERCISES. 


341 


high  as  the  waist.  Now  sit  down  so  as  to  touch  the 
heels.  In  rising,  use  the  legs  alone,  simply  employ- 
ing the  arms  to  steady  the  body.  {Fig.  9) 


Figure  9. 

No.  9.     CHEST  EXPANDING,  WITH  LETTING  DOWN, 

two,  four,  or  six  times. 

Rings  at  the  lowest  point.  Arms  perpendicular. 
Body  straight;  supported  at  the  feet  on  the  points  of 
the  toes,  ard  with  the  hands  seizing  the  rings  as  seen 

29* 


342 


CONSUMPTION. 


in  the  cut.  Bend  the  elbows  and  let  the  body  down 
slowly.  Raise  it  again  slowly.  The  arms  do  nearly 
all  the  labor.  (Fig.  10.) 


Figure  10. 


No.    10.      HALF   LYING,   WITH   LIFTING  BY  THB 
ARMS,  two,  three,  or  four  limes. 

Rings  as  high  as  the  chest.  Seize  the  rings  from 
the  outside  with  the  support  grasp,  and  bring  the  body 
beneath  the  rings  in  an  almost  lying  down  position. 
Keep  the  body  and  neck  in  a  straight  line  rigidly. 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


343 


Now  draw  the  chest  up  to  the  rings,  and  let  the  body 
down  again  to  the  full  length  of  the  arms.   (Fig.  11.) 


Fig.  11. 


No.  11.     CHEST  EXPANDING,  two,  four,  or  six  times. 

Rings  as  high  as  the  chest.  Adjust  the  stirrup 
straps  so  that  when  the  rings  are  held  out  at  arms 
length  from  the  body,  the  stirrups  will  touch  the  floor. 
Put  the  feet  into  the  stirrups  as  far  as  the  heels. 
Take  hold  of  the  rings  with  the  support  grasp  from 
the  inside.  Stretch  out  the  arms  in  front  of  the  body, 


344 


CONSUMPTION. 


and  then,  keeping  the  arms  straight,  carry  them  bacl 
ward  as  far  as  possible.  As  soon  as  the  straps  ai  , 
drawn  tightly,  the  feet  begin  to  offer  a  point  of  resist- 
ance, which  may  be  increased  to  any  desired  degree. 
The  body  remains  firm  with  heels  upon  the  ground. 
(Fig.  12.) 


Fig.  12. 


No.  12.     NAPE  BRACING  POSITION,  during  two,  far, 
or  six  inhalations. 

The  rings  are  placed  at  their  lowest  position,  or 


SPECIAL   EXEKCISES. 


34ft 


within  a  foot  of  the  floor.  A  strip  of  wood  is  placed 
in  the  rings,  and  upon  it  some  soft  object  like  a  cush- 
ion or  shawl.  The  back  part  of  the  head  is  laid  upon 
the  cushion,  and  the  heels  touch  the  floor.  The  body 
is  arched  upward  and  held  in  that  position.  {Fig.  13.) 


.  13. 


346 


CONSUMPTION. 


No.  13.  Lie  down  on  a  settee,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
14 ;  your  assistant  seizing  your  legs  will  force  them 
down  as  seen  in  the  dotted  lines.  You  resist.  Repeat 
5  times. 


Flff.  14. 


No.  14.  Have  something  to  raise  your  head  and 
shoulders.  Assistant  will  seize  your  leg,  as  seen  in 
Fig.  15,  and  move  your  knee  in  a  circle,  both  ways, 
5  times,  as  seen  in  the  dotted  line.  Each  leg  must 
receive  the  same.  In  this  exercise  you  do  not  resist. 

No.  15.  With  your  head  and  shoulders  still  raised, 
as  in  the  last,  hold  your  arms  perpendicular  over  your 
head.  (Fig.  16.)  Assistant  will  take  hold  of  your 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


347 


wrists,  and  carry  your  arms  directly  outward  as  in  the 
dotted  lines ;  you  resist.  Then  he  brings  them  back 
again ;  you  resist.  Repeat  5  times. 


Figure  1C. 


348 


CONSUMPTION. 


No.  16.  Holding  your  feet  together,  your  assist- 
ant will  make  a  large  circle  with  them ;  (Fig*  17,) 
you  resist ;  both  ways,  5  times. 


Fig.  17. 


No.  17.  Seizing  a  pole  overhead,  your  assistant 
will  make  a  large  circle  with  your  hips,  both  ways,  3 
times.  (Fig.  18.)  You  do  not  resist. 

No.  18.  Standing  as  indicated  in  the  cut,  (Fig. 
19,)  your  assistant  pushes  your  hips  forward  as  far  as 
possible,  5  times.  You  resist. 


SPECIAL   EXERCISES. 


349 


Figure  19. 


350 


CONSUMPTION. 


No.  19.  Raising  your  arms  to  the  perpendicular, 
as  in  Fig.  20,  your  assistant  seizes  your  wrists,  and 
forces  your  arms  out  to  the  horizontal,  5  times ;'  you 
resist.  Each  time,  as  the  arms  are  brought  back  to 
the  perpendicular,  you  resist.  You  must  not  bend  the 
elbows. 


Fig.  90. 

As  usual,  close  the  exercise  by  vigorous  percussion 
over  every  part  of  the  body.  This  percussion  may  be 
used  now  at  any  time  in  the  course  of  the  exercises, 
while  you  are  resting.  Indeed  this  practice  is  admissi- 
ble at  almost  any  time. 


SPECIAL  EXERCISES.  351 

NINTH  WEEK. 

I  shall  give  you  no  new  exercises  for  this  week. 
You  have  now  had  a  good  deal  of  experience,  and  it  is 
quite  right  to  leave  much  to  your  judgment.  You 
have  learned  which  exercises  affect  you  most  pleasant- 
ly. I  commend  to  your  attention  those  with  the  Pan- 
gymnastikon,  and  especially  those  in  which  you  are 
suspended  by  the  arms. 

Select  from  the  previous  exercises  such  as  you 
please  for  this  week,  and  be  careful,  only,  that  you  do 
not  fatigue  yourself. 

I  think  now  it  will  be  proper  for  you  to  exercise 
twice  a  day;  say  in  the  forenoon,  and. again  the  eve- 
ning, before  you  go  to  bed.  But  this  point  you  must 
decide  in  view  of  your  strength.  If  there  are  evi- 
dences of  fatigue,  you  had  better  exercise  but  once  a 
day. 

TENTH  WEEEK. 


Most  consumptive  invalids  are  indisposed  to  exer- 
cise, and  particularly  indisposed  to  employ  their  arms. 
Many  attempt  training  of  the  shoulders  and  chest,  and 


352  CONSUMPTION. 

abandon  it  In  disgust.  But  if  in  the  systematic  per- 
formance of  the  exercises  other  persons  are  interested, 
the  patient  cannot  withdraw.  Besides,  those  exer- 
cises in  which  others  participate  have  social  attrac- 
tions, to  which  consumptives,  as  a  class,  are  peculiarly 
susceptible. 

For  example,  a  consumptive  young  lady  has 
brothers  who  assist  her  in  certain  prescribed  exer- 
cises. These  are  to  be  executed  twice  a  day,  at 
hours  when  the  brothers  are  at  home.  There  is  an 
affectionate  interest  in  the  group  with  reference  to  the 
pleasant  duty.  It  is  not  forgotten.  Suppose  the 
brother  is  the  patient,  the  sisters  or  mother  will  act 
as  assistants.  In  every  family  such  exercises  are 
sure  of  the  proper  attention.  I  need  scarcely  say, 
that,  if  the  patient  undertake  to  exercise  alone,  with 
dumb-bells,  or  some  similar  means,  it  will  soon  grow 
tiresome,  and  be  abandoned. 

Moreover,  it  is  a  matter  of  no  small  moment  that 
other  members  of  the  family — who  are  not  unlikely 
to  be  predisposed  to  die  same  malady — will  thus 
secure  a  series  of  profitable  exercises.  I  must  add 
my  conviction,  that  by  no  other  variety  of  training 
can  the  efforts  be  so  accurately  directed  to  the  muscles 
whose  weakness  permits  the  distortion  of  chest  which 
is  often  the  exciting  cause  of  the  malady. 

With  a  good  sized  room,  and  open  windows,  the  ail 


SPECIAL  EXERCISES. 


353 


may  be  pure,  while  the  exercise  will  prove  the  occa- 
sion of  a  thorough  ventilation  of  the  house. 

I  am  indebted  to  Friedrich  Robert  Nitzsche,  of 
Dresden,  for  the  drawings  of  the  accompanying  cuts. 
His  works  are  invaluable. 

No.  1.  Bend,  as  shown  in  Fig.  1,  5  times.  It  is 
best  to  do  this  exercise  quite  deliberately.  Indeed, 
this  rule  is  applicable  to  nearly  all  exercises. 

No.  2.  Locking  the  hands  on  the  lower  part  of  the 
back,  thrust  them  backward,  as  shown  in  dotted  lines, 
(Fig.  2,)  10  tunes. 


Figure  1. 


30» 


Figure  8. 


354 


CONSUMPTION. 


SPECIAL    EXERCISES. 


355 


No.  3.  The  exercise  illustrated  in  Fig.  3  needs  no 

• 
description.     I  will  only  say,  that  the  arms  must  not 

be  bent  at  the  elbows.     Repeat  5  times. 

No.  4.  Draw  your  arms  down,  as  indicated  in  the 
dotted  lines  {Fig.  4)  ;  assistants  resist.  Now  force 
them  upward  ;  assistants  resist.  Repeat  5  times. 

No.  5.  This  one  (Fig.  5)  may  be  done  twenty 
times,  or  even  more,  very  deliberately.  It  is  very 
pleasant,  and  a  capital  exercise. 


.  s. 


356 


CONSUMPTION. 


No.  6.  DRAWING  UP  WITH  THE  SPREAD  Out 

• 

GRASP,  one,  two,  or  three  times.        " '•"»" 

Position  as  in  Fig.  6.  Then  raise  the  body  as  high 
as  possible  with  the  arms,  keeping  the  body  straight 
between  the  two  rings.  Motions  very  slow. 


No.  7.     SPREAD   OUT  HANG  WITH  DRAWING  TO- 
GETHER OF  THE  LEGS,  three,  four ,  or  Jive  times. 

The  rings  are  fixed  by  the  side  ropes  at  head  height. 


SPECIAL,    EXERCISES. 


357 


The  stirrups  are  at  a  length  which  permits  the  legs  to 
take  a  fall,  though  not  an  exaggerated  spread -apart 
position.  Each  hand  grasps  a  ring,  each  foot  is  placed 
in  a  stirrup.  The  feet  are  then  drawn  together  until 
the  heels  touch,  as  shown  in  the  dotted  line,  Fig.  7. 


Figure  7. 


At  this  time  you  may  use  percussion  at  your  pleas- 
ure. You  can  hardly  over-do  this  kind  of  treatment, 
so  long  as  the  blows  are  not  painful.  I  have  no  fear 
you  will  hurt  yourself  after  ten  weeks  experience. 


358  CONSUMPTION. 

I  leave  you,  after  enjoying  the  honor  of  acting  <s 
your  guide  for  ten  weeks.  I  trust  they  have  pro  .'ed 
weeks  of  pleasure  and  profit  to  you. 

You  should  continue  to  exercise  regularly ;  but  now 
I  leave  you  to  prescribe  for  yourself.  You  will  not 
be  likely  to  make  any  mistake,  except  to  suppose  that 
you  are  well  enough,  and  need  not  work  any  more. 
Do  not  fall  into  this  common  blunder.  Set  apart,  at 
least,  one  hour  every  day  for  this  important  duty. 


TO    PERSONS    WITH    WEAK    CHESTS. 

I  shall  be  happy  to  advise  with  you.  My  office 
hours  are  from  10  to  12  A.  M.  If  you  reside  far 
from  Boston,  I  may  assist  you  by  correspondence. 
In  writing  me,  you  should  answer  the  following  ques- 
tions : — Is  your  family  consumptive  ?  What  is  your 
age  ?  What  is  your  occupation  ?  Have  you  drooping 
shoulders  ?  What  is  the  number  of  your  pulse  in  the 
morning?  How  is  your  digestion?  What  does  the 
physician  say  of  the  actual  condition  of  your  lungs  ? 


Dio  LEWIS,  M.  D., 
Box  12,  Boston  Post  Office 


; 


A   NEW    SCHOOL.  359 

A    NEW    SCHOOL    FOE    THE    PHYSICAL, 
MENTAL,  AND  MOEAL  TRAINING 

OF  THE  YOUNG, 

will  be  opened  in  Boston  on  the  first  day  of  Octo- 
ber, 1863. 

THEODORE  D.  WELD,  for  many  years  at  the  head 
of  the  EAGLESWOOD  SCHOOL,  New  Jersey,  will  have 
charge  of  an  important  department.  Other  esteemed 
teachers,  not  unknown  to  the  public,  will  assist  in  the 
Scientific  and  Classical  Department.  Dio  LEWIS  will 
have  supervision  of  Physical  Culture.  For  a  brief 
description  of  the  plan  of  the  new  school,  the  reader 
is  referred  to  page  233,  of  this  volume. 

It  is  believed  that  parents  who  have  children  of  deli- 
cate constitutions,  will  read  this  announcement  with 
profound  satisfaction. 

Interested  parties  may  address  Dio  Lewis,  Box  12, 
Boston  Post  Office,  for  a  full  circular. 

WORKS    DEVOTED    TO    PHYSICAL    CUL- 
TURE, NOW  IN  PREPARATION, 
BY  Dio  LEWIS,  M.  D. 

The  second  in  the  series  of  Movement  Cure  books 
will  bear  the  title  "  DYSPEPSIA,  AND.  How  TO  CURE 
IT,"  or  "  AFFECTIONS  OF  THE  ORGANS  OF  THE  AB- 
DOMEN, WITH  THEIR  HOME  TREATMENT  BY  THE 
MOVEMENT  CURE." 


360  CONSUMPTION. 

The  stomach  la  the  fountain  from  which  the  entire 
body  is  fed.  With  a  pure  fountain  it  is  hardly  possi- 
ble that  any  part  of  the  organism  should  become 
impure  or  diseased.  The  common  causes  of  dyspep- 
sia, liver  derangement,  constipation,  and  other  familiar 
affections  of  the  organs  of  the  abdomen,  may  be  easily 
pointed  out,  and  the  rocks  which  threaten  our  safety 
so  marked,  that  all  prudent  voyagers  may  escape. 

The  third  in  the  series  will  bear  the  title  "  WEAK 
BACKS,  AND  How  TO  MAKTC  THEM  STRONG,"  or 
"  SPINAL  CURVATURES  AND  WEAKNESSES,  WITH 
THEIR  HOME  TREATMENT  BY  THE  MOVEMENT 
CURE." 

The  fourth  in  the  series  will  bear  the  title  "  AFFEC- 
TIONS OF  THE  SEXUAL  SYSTEM,  WITH  THEIR  HOME 
TREATMENT  BY  THE  MOVEMENT  CURE." 

The  fifth  in  the  series  will  bear  the  title  "  AFFEC- 
TIONS OF  THE  NERVOUS  SYSTEM  WITH  THEIR  HOME 
TREATMENT  BY  THE  MOVEMENT  CURE. 


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